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Hall of Fame forward Guy Lafleur says the Canadiens have ‘four fourth lines’

Guy Lafleur

Former Montreal Canadiens hockey great Guy Lafleur arrives at the Mountainside United Church for the funeral of Canadiens great Dickie Moore in Montreal on Monday, Dec. 28, 2015. Moore passed away on Dec. 19. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

AP

It’s safe to say that the 2015-16 season hasn’t been kind to the Montreal Canadiens. After they got off to a great start, things fell apart for the Canadiens in early December. Sure, they had to deal with long-term injuries to key players like Carey Price and Brendan Gallagher, but every team has to deal with players coming in and out of the lineup.

Former Canadiens great Guy Lafleur knows a thing or two about winning. The Hall of Fame forward won five Stanley Cups in his 17-year career.

Speaking at a charity event in Montreal on Wednesday evening, Lafleur admitted that he couldn’t understand how an injury to a goaltender could affect a team this much.

“It’s strange to see that one man could make a big difference because Carey Price doesn’t score any goals,” Lafleur told PHT. “Some of the guys, some of the leaders have to show up a bit more and they have to take charge.”

Finding the back of the net has been problematic for Montreal. Outside of Alex Galchenyuk and Max Pacioretty, no other player has hit the 20-goal mark this season (Gallagher’s been injured).

When asked what he thought the Canadiens needed to add in the off-season, Lafleur had a pretty interesting answer.

“The off-season? They have to get some better players (laughs). The way I look at it right now, there’s no first line, second line, third line. I think they have four fourth lines.”

Ouch! That’s one way of putting it.

Lafleur’s comments aren’t 100 percent accurate because the Canadiens have plenty of talent on the roster, but he’s right when he says they aren’t good enough right now.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Canadiens front office approaches the upcoming off-season.