Guy Gerard Lapointe (born March 18, 1948) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

who played for the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

and

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. He retired in 2020 after serving as Coordinator of Amateur Scouting with the NHL's

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

for 20 years.

Career

Nicknamed "Pointu" (a play on his name in French, where "pointu" carries most of the same meanings as "sharp" or "pointy" in English), Lapointe was famous for his powerful slapshot and brutal body-checks. Along with defencemen Larry Robinson and Serge Savard, Lapointe was a member of the "Big Three" and played a key role in the Canadiens' winning the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

six times in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. He was traded to the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

and signed with the

after the following season. He retired in 1984 following a series of injuries. Lapointe was inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

in 1993. In 884 NHL games, Lapointe recorded 171 goals and 451 assists for 622 points. He still holds the Montreal Canadiens' record for most goals in a season for a defenceman (28), and most goals for a rookie defenceman (15). His number (#5) was retired by the Canadiens on November 8, 2014. Since the #5 is already retired on behalf of Bernie Geoffrion, they will both share the honour. Interestingly, similar to Bernie Geoffrion, his number was raised side by side with the number of other members whose numbers were already retired before him, though this time being the 2 other members of the "Big Three", Serge Savard and Larry Robinson (Savard and Robinson's banner were lowered halfway and were raised back up to the rafters with Lapointe's banner, just like what they did to Bernie Geoffrion and his father-in-law Howie Morenz).

Pranks

Lapointe was also known for his sense of humour and being a prankster. One of his most famous pranks is probably the Vaseline coated handshake with then-Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau as he was visiting the Canadiens' locker room. Another time, Lapointe "stole" rookie Mario Tremblay's new Pontiac Grand Prix and relocated it to a different level of that parking garage, then waiting a few days before disclosing this to Tremblay who had already filed a police report and contacted insurance

Coaching and scouting

Following his retirement from playing, Lapointe became general manager of the Longueuil Chevaliers of the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

, followed by a stint as associate coach with the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...

. He later served as an assistant coach and later as a scout with the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

. He was the Chief Amateur scout with the

, a position he has held from the franchise's inception in 2000 to 2020.

Personal life

He is the father of three children: Guy Jr., Stephanie and Jordan.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and accomplishments

*NHL First All-Star Team (1973) *NHL Second All-Star Team (1975, 1976, 1977) *Played in NHL All-Star Game (1973, 1975, 1976, 1977)

International

International play

Early into his NHL career, Lapointe was chosen to play in the historic 1972 Summit Series against the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Lapointe accepted the invitation regardless of the fact his wife would give birth to his first child (Guy Jr.), during the series, while the team was in the

. He would compete internationally again for Canada in the

1976 Canada Cup The 1976 Canada Cup was an international ice hockey tournament held September 2 to 15, 1976, in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg and Quebec City in Canada as well as in Philadelphia, in the United States. It was the first of five Canada Cup ...

and the 1979 Challenge Cup against the Soviets, which replaced that year's All-Star Game.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapointe, Guy 1948 births Living people Boston Bruins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Calgary Flames coaches Calgary Flames scouts Canadian ice hockey defencemen Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Houston Apollos players Ice hockey people from Montreal Minnesota Wild scouts Montreal Canadiens players Montreal Junior Canadiens players National Hockey League players with retired numbers Quebec Nordiques coaches St. Louis Blues players Stanley Cup champions Canadian ice hockey coaches 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Verdun Maple Leafs (ice hockey) players