Photo Credit: Dave Stubbs/ Montreal Gazette
Prior to the game against the Minnesota Wild last night, the Montreal Canadiens paid tribute to Hall of Fame defensemen Guy Lapointe. They retired No. 5, allowing him to join No. 18 Serge Savard and No. 19 Larry Robinson in the rafters above Bell Centre.
Savard and Robinson both spoke to the energetic crowd at Bell Centre before Lapointe’s emotional speech. Lapointe spoke to the crowd, telling them that he “was a lot more comfortable in a pair of skates” than he was in his own shoes at that moment. He also took the time out to thank everybody who helped his career, including his late father, who pushed him to go to the Canadiens training camp. In his speech, he also gave a special thank you to Savard and Robinson who he considered the “Big Two”. Following the speech, alternate captains of the Canadiens, Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban brought out the No. 5 banner to Lapointe.
The former defenseman of the Canadiens, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993, and is currently the Wild’s chief of amateur scouting since 1999, tried to control his emotions as he watched his No. 5 Lapointe banner be raised up between his fellow Big Three members on either side of him.
Lapointe was a member of six Stanley Cup winning teams with the Canadiens, and is still the franchise’s second-leading scorer among defensemen, with Robinson being the first in the lead.
The three took a photograph to close the night in the same position that their banners are hung, with Lapointe in the middle, Savard to his right, and Robinson to his left, just the way it should be.
