Guy Lafleur’s long-lost Jewish snapshot

Guy Lafleur with a siddur

When the Montreal Canadiens hockey legend died of cancer on April 22, 2022, it sparked a great memory for the man who was a 20-year-old McGill University student when he snapped this photo of Guy Lafleur. Robert Foxman pitched the portrait idea when the player emerged from a 1981 practice at the old Montreal Forum—and “The Flower” actually agreed. Wearing the photographer’s tallit, and holding his personal siddur, it was taken across the street outside of Bali-Hi, a Polynesian tiki bar at the Alexis Nihon Plaza. Foxman’s father loved kvelling about the photo, but it was largely under wraps until his sister posted it to Facebook as a memorial tribute. —Ellin Bessner (Read and hear more about this story at thecjn.ca/lafleur.)