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When two players are drafted first and second overall in a given year, their careers are inexorably linked and will be forever compared and contrasted to each other (think Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin in the 2004 NHL Draft, or in a different sport, Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf in the 1998 NFL Draft). Such was the case in 1971, when two Quebec junior hockey superstars, Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne, were selected with the first two picks in that year’s NHL draft – both picks worked out, as each player went on to have a legendary Hall of Fame career, thus inevitably bringing up the question:
Who was better – Marcel Dionne or Guy Lafleur?
The Beginning
As mentioned, both Dionne and Lafleur dominated the junior hockey ranks and were drafted at the top of their class, thus carrying high expectations into the start of their NHL careers.
Growing up in Quebec, Dionne played in Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments before joining the St. Catharines Black Hawks of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) in 1969. After setting the OHA career scoring record, he was drafted second overall in the 1971 NHL Entry Draft (behind Lafleur) by the Detroit Red Wings – as a rookie in 1971-1972, Dionne posted 28 goals and 49 assists for 77 points with an even +/- rating to finish third in the Calder Trophy voting for top rookie.
Similarly, Lafleur also participated in Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments as a youngster and then graduated to the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), where he scored 130 goals in a single season to lead the team to the 1971 Memorial Cup. With Lafleur and Dionne widely expected to be top picks in 1971, the Montreal Canadiens traded their 1970 first-round pick and Ernie Hicks to the now-defunct California Golden Seals for their 1971 first-round pick and Francois Lacombe. Since the Golden Seals ended up finishing last in 1971, the Canadiens earned the top pick and proceeded to select Lafleur first overall in the 1971 NHL Entry Draft. Lafleur had a solid rookie season, scoring 29 goals with 35 assists for 64 points and a +27 +/- rating.
Career Comparison
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Dionne and Lafleur were two of the brightest stars in the NHL, though played under very different circumstances – on one hand, Dionne put up sterling numbers with middling Los Angeles Kings teams out west and was perhaps perpetually underrated, while on the other hand, Lafleur shone brightly as one of the all-time greats for the league’s flagship franchise in the Montreal Canadiens and for a stretch, was arguably the most dominant player in the game.
Building on his rookie season, Dionne was a star in Detroit, racking up 90 points and 78 points, respectively, in the 1972-1973 and 1973-1974 seasons. In 1974-1975, he had his first of eight 100-point seasons (47 goals and 74 assists for 121 points, though a -15 +/- rating), finishing eighth for the Hart Trophy for MVP and winning the first of two Lady Byngs for “sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability”. However, Dionne was unhappy with the Red Wings and thus traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1975 for Terry Harper, Dan Maloney, cash, and draft picks, signing the then-richest contract in hockey history following the trade.
In his decade-plus with the Kings (11.5 seasons), Dionne formed the “Triple Crown” line with teammates Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor, and would put up his most prolific career numbers. After 94 points (40 goals and 54 assists) in his first season in Los Angeles, he set then-career highs with 53 goals and 69 assists for 122 points with a +11 +/- rating in 1976-1977, again winning the Lady Byng and finishing fifth for the Hart. Though he slipped the following season, Dionne would then embark on a career peak of five straight 100+ point seasons with 50+ goals scored each year – most notably:
- 1978-1979: a career-high 59 goals with 71 assists for 130 points and a +22 +/- rating; won the Pearson Award (now known as the Lindsay Award) for most outstanding player in the regular season, while also finishing second for the Lady Byng and third for the Hart
- 1979-1980: 53 goals and a career-high 84 assists for a league-leading and career-best 137 points and a +34 +/- rating; won the Pearson Award again and the Ross Trophy for top point scorer, while again finishing second for the Lady Byng and second for the Hart
- 1980-1981: nearly topped the previous season’s numbers with 58 goals and 77 assists for 135 points and a career-best +54 +/- rating; finished third for the Hart
After a dip to “only” 92 points in 66 games played in 1983-1984, Dionne rebounded the next season with his last 100-point season (46 goals and 80 assists for 126 points and a +11 +/- rating). However, midway through the 1986-1987 season, he was traded to the New York Rangers, where he spent his final two-and-half seasons before retiring after the 1988-1989 season at age 37; at the time, Dionne was second all-time in career goals, assists, and points to only the great Gordie Howe.
At the same time Dionne was making his NHL mark, Lafleur initially had two somewhat middling seasons in 1972-1973 (55 points) and 1973-1974 (56 points) before breaking out in a big way in 1974-1975 with 56 goals and 66 assists for 119 points with a +53 +/- rating. This would be the first of six consecutive seasons of 50+ goals and 100+ points, notably racking up two Hart Trophies, three Pearson Awards, and three Ross Trophies in the process:
- 1975-1976: 56 goals and 69 assists for 125 points and a +67 +/- rating; won first Pearson Award and Ross Trophy
- 1976-1977: 56 goals and a league-best and career-high 80 assists for 136 points and a whooping career-high +89 +/- rating; in addition to second straight Pearson and Ross, also won his first Hart Trophy
- 1977-1978: a league-high 60 goals and 72 assists for 132 points and a league-leading +73 +/- rating; won second straight Hart and third straight Pearson and Ross
Post this three-year career peak, Lafleur posted two more strong seasons, finishing second for the Hart Trophy in 1978-1979 (52 goals and 77 assists for 129 points and a +55 +/- rating) and fourth in 1979-1980 (50 goals and 75 assists for 125 points and a +40 +/- rating).
However, as the 1980s rolled around, Lafleur’s star would begin to wane – in 1980-1981, he dipped to just 70 points (27 goals and 43 assists) in 51 games played as a result of injuries. Though he did rebound to 27 goals and 57 assists for 84 points in 1981-1982, he would never again reach 100 points in a season. In fact, Lafleur’s last 30-goal season came in 1983-1984 (30 goals and 40 assists for 70 points), though he posted the first negative +/- rating of his career (-16). Unhappy with his diminishing role in 1983-1984, he tried to force a trade, but the Canadiens refused and as a result, he announced his retirement at age 33.
After being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988, Lafleur returned to the NHL with the New York Rangers and was one of the few players who did not have to wear a helmet due to a grandfather clause – in 67 games played, he notched 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points, but was clearly not the same player. He subsequently joined the Quebec Nordiques for two more seasons before retiring again after the 1990-1991 season at age 39, leaving his mark as the top point and assist producer in Canadiens history, and second in goals scored to only the legendary Maurice Richard.
Overall, while Dionne technically only played one more season than Lafleur, better durability gives him a 200+ career game edge; moreover, over their respective careers, Dionne has the edge in goals, assists, and points, though Lafleur does have a significantly better career +/- rating from playing on elite Montreal teams. In addition, Dionne holds the edge in point-per-game average (1.31 vs. 1.20), 30-goal seasons (14x vs. 7x, though both had six 50-goal seasons), and 100-point seasons (8x vs. 6x). On the flip side, however, Lafleur was more widely recognized for his on-ice accomplishments – though Dionne had more All-Star Game selections (8 vs. 6), the Canadien great won two Hart Trophies, three Ross Trophies, and three Pearson Trophies vs. one Ross, two Pearsons, and two Lady Byng Trophies for Dionne. Given their highly prolific careers, it should come as no surprise that both players were first-ballot Hall of Famers, Lafleur in 1988 (though he later made an NHL comeback) and Dionne in 1992.
Regular Season Statistics
| Marcel Dionne | Player | Guy Lafleur |
| 18 (1971-1989) | Seasons | 17 (1971-1985, 1988-1991) |
| 1,348 | Games Played | 1,126 |
| 731 | Goals | 560 |
| 1,040 | Assists | 793 |
| 1,771 | Points | 1,353 |
| +27 | +/- | +446 |
| 8x | All-Star Games | 6x |
| – | Hart Trophies | 2x |
| 1x | Ross Trophies | 3x |
| – | Stanley Cups | 5x |
| – | Conn Smythes | 1x |
| 2x Pearson, 2x Lady Byng | Other Awards | 3x Pearson |
| 1992 | Hall of Fame Induction | 1988 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
While both Dionne and Lafleur were prolific individual performers, their postseason success diverged greatly – Lafleur was a key cog of the 1970s Montreal dynasty that won multiple Stanley Cups, while Dionne’s Kings were a middling franchise for most of his career and he is perhaps the greatest player to have never won a Stanley Cup.
Despite his regular season prowess, in Dionne’s nine career playoff appearances (eight with the Kings and one with the Rangers), he was unable to win that elusive Stanley Cup. All in all, his teams advanced past the first round only 3x, losing in the second round each time (1976, 1977, and 1982). Individually, his best postseason performance came in 1977, when he accumulated 5 goals and 9 assists for 14 points in 9 games, though had a -4 +/- rating; additionally, in 1982, he posted 11 points (7 goals and 4 assists) with +2 +/- rating in 10 games.
In sharp contrast, Lafleur was part of some dynastic Canadiens teams that included fellow Hall of Famers such as Ken Dryden, Larry Robinson, Yvan Cournoyer, Serge Savard, etc., and made 13 straight playoff trips with Montreal (14x overall), resulting in five Stanley Cup titles, including four straight from 1976 to 1979. The year prior to the four-peat, though the Canadiens fell in the semifinals, Lafleur led the playoffs with 12 goals. Moreover, for three straight years during his career peak, he led the playoffs in scoring, including winning the Conn Smythe Trophy for postseason MVP in 1977:
- 1977: 9 goals and 17 assists for 26 points with a +20 +/- rating; Canadiens swept the Boston Bruins for the Cup
- 1978: 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points with a +10 +/- rating; Montreal again beat Boston, this time in six games
- 1979: 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points with a +8 +/- rating; this time, the Canadiens beat the Rangers in five games
On the international stage, Dionne and Lafleur both represented Team Canada on multiple occasions at World Championships and Canada Cups. The duo competed together and won gold at the 1976 and 1981 Canada Cups, while Dionne also added three bronze medals at the World Championships (1978, 1983, 1986).
Playoff Statistics
| Marcel Dionne | Player | Guy Lafleur |
| 49 | Games Played | 128 |
| 20 | Goals | 58 |
| 23 | Assists | 76 |
| 43 | Points | 134 |
| -19 | +/- | +50 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; whereas Dionne maintained a consistent level of greatness for nearly two decades, Lafleur’s dominance in the late 1970s was followed by bouts of injuries and inconsistency. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Marcel Dionne | Player | Guy Lafleur |
| 1974-1977, 1978-1985 | Decade of Dominance | 1974-1984 |
| 784 | Games Played | 727 |
| 501 | Goals | 438 |
| 680 | Assists | 628 |
| 1,181 | Points | 1,066 |
| +128 | +/- | +422 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
Since Lafleur’s dominance really only lasted for approximately six seasons, it is unsurprising that Dionne holds the scoring edge across their decades of dominance; again, Lafleur has a far superior +/- rating from playing on those great Canadiens teams.
My Thoughts
Imagine if in 1971, the Montreal Canadiens had drafted Marcel Dionne first overall, leaving the Detroit Red Wings to take Guy Lafleur – how different would each player’s career have turned out? Would both still have ended up as Hall of Famers? As it is, Lafleur is widely recognized today as one of the greatest players in Canadiens history and his stature is perhaps elevated by having played for the most renowned team in NHL history. In contrast, Dionne arguably never received the full acclaim he deserved due to toiling on middling Kings teams for most of his prime all the way out in Southern California and far away from the epicenter of hockey, though he is arguably the greatest “little” player in league history. Nevertheless, when you look closely at their careers, while Lafleur certainly had a dominant six-year peak in which he scored 50+ goals and 100+ points each year, his skills diminished quickly, whereas Dionne was consistently great for a dozen or more years as evidenced by his final career numbers. Yes, Lafleur has the hardware, including Stanley Cups, but that is in part a product of his environment – who is to say that Dionne would not have won five Cups if he had been a Canadien?
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Marcel Dionne
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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