Canadiens legend Lafleur slams Pacioretty, Vanek after loss in Conference Final
Montreal Canadiens legend and five-time Stanley Cup winner Guy Lafleur wasn't mincing words after witnessing his old team's loss to the New York Rangers in the 2014 Eastern Conference Final, telling La Presse it looked "as if everyone had given up" in a series-deciding 1-0 loss in Game 6.
Added Lafleur: "You do not play hockey for good seasons. You play to win the Stanley Cup," and called out two players in particular: "Guys like (Thomas) Vanek and (Max) Pacioretty, you can not keep that in your team. They stay home if they are not willing to pay the price. Your team will never win with players like that that fade when there is adversity."
While Vanek is likely to move on as an unrestricted free agent, Pacioretty - who scored five goals in 17 playoff games after recording a career-high 39 in the regular season - remains under contract for five more seasons and is seen as a cornerstone forward in Montreal.
Lafleur added he was impressed with the play of Dustin Tokarski, and does not consider the change in net necessitated by an injury to Carey Price to have been a deciding factor in the series.
In 128 career playoff games, Lafleur scored 58 goals and added 76 assists.