from George Johnson of the Calgary Herald,

The Montreal Canadiens Alumni Tour rolled into Markin McPhail Arena on Thursday evening, here to support the Ability Society of Alberta and WinSport. Among their number were Shutt, Guy Lafleur and Stephane Richer. Between them, the scorers of 1,408 regular-season NHL goals. These gents, needless to add, knew their way around a net the way Sinatra did around a song lyric or F. Scott Fitzgerald around a sentence.

For the iconic Lafleur, there is an equipment issue, yes, but also a philosophical and developmental one.

“First: Instead of talking about increasing the goal size they should decrease the size of the goaltenders’ equipment. But also, it’s the type of game played now. That’s why you don’t see more goals. They get to the red line and they dump it in. It’s a chasing game — all the time. When they have the puck, they get rid of it. Instead of entering the zone and trying to make a play.

“It seems like that’s a lot easier for everybody. For me, as an ex-player, it’s a boring game. You don’t see the pure talent of the individual because they aren’t willing to exploit it. They’re stuck in a system. Most of the teams in the league — with a few exceptions — all look alike.

“The game today lacks creativity. That’s what you need. That’s what people want.”

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