The Montreal Canadiens have picked Nov. 8 as the date they’ll retire the jersey of defenseman Guy Lapointe.
Lapointe’s No. 5 was previously retired in 2006 in honor of Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, but this ceremony will make Lapointe the 18th player to have his jersey raised by the Montreal Canadiens. The last two were Elmer Lach and Emile Bouchard on Dec. 4, 2009.
The native of Montreal was one of the best defensemen of the 1970s and collected Norris Trophy votes in six seasons over the span of that decade. Montreal was a dominant team during his tenure and Lapointe finished his career as a six-time Stanley Cup champion. With his career winding down, the Canadiens shipped Lapointe to St. Louis in March 1982 in exchange for the 27th overall pick in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft (Sergio Momesso). Lapointe finished the season with the Blues and played with them for one more campaign after that before concluding his career with a one-season stint in Boston.
He finished with 171 goals and 622 points in 884 games. Lapointe was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993.