Former goalkeeper Patrick Roy did not hesitate to pay tribute to Guy LaFleur, whom he considers one of the greatest goalkeepers, both an athlete and a humanitarian.

• Read also: [EN DIRECT] Guy Lafleur’s state funeral: here are all the developments

• Read also: [VIDÉO] Guy Lafleur’s funeral: Jeannette Reno sings “L’Essentiel” during the concert

• Read also: [EN IMAGES] Guy LaFleur National Funeral: A Tribute to Our Hero

“In the 1970s, all the young hockey players in Quebec dreamed of being Guy Lafleur. Me, I dreamed of being Ken Dryden so that I could one day play on the same team as Guy Lafleur,” said Patrick Roy to the crowd that gathered at Marie-Rhin du Monde cathedral. For Tuesday’s national funeral, Jay was more than a player in life, and his exploits and ingenuity knew no bounds.He was his idol, hero, inspiration, living proof that we can and must dream big.

Number 33 admitted that he had been impressed from the start by the famous blond devil, whom he met when he first started at Habs in 1984.

“I took the full measure of the hero who stood before me: prestige, presence and charisma. Number 10 established in five minutes. […] Terrified, I experienced a surreal moment. Before he left, he smacked me on the pads and said, “Welcome to Canadians, baby.” That was him, Guy LaFleur: deep respect and boundless generosity. He’s the guy who takes the time, because he knows those few words will make all the difference for you.

Then Roy looked back on that infamous night on February 4, 1989, when he faced LaFleur upon returning to play for the New York Rangers. The Canadian had climbed the slope to win 7-5, not before the blond devil broke out two goals at his expense.

“An enchanting evening, so magical that when he scored two goals for me, I received a standing ovation,” Kasu quipped, causing some laughter.

The mayor of Quebec wanted to be there

Among the eminent people, the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, considered it necessary to go to Montreal for this national funeral.

“It’s the greatness of man. As we’ve seen in the past few days, he had the power to rally Quebecers to Montreal and rally Quebecers through sports,” he said before entering church. For me, the ti-cul was the guy we wanted to wear our bra. We told each other with our fake bras [au hockey de rue] : I am number 10. […] What we didn’t know at the time was that someone was telling us it was possible to get there.