INTERNATIONAL: Thousands of people lined up to pay their respects to Canadian hockey legend Guy LaFleur as he lay in state Sunday (May 1) at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.

LaFleur will continue to lie in state at the home arena of the Montreal Canadiens through Monday (May 2) before being honored with a state funeral on May 3 at the Marie-Reine-du-Monde Cathedral in downtown Montreal.

Lafleur died on April 22 at age 70. He was a native of Quebec and played 16 of his 17 NHL seasons in the province.

Nicknamed "The Flower," Lafleur was a five-time Stanley Cup champion for the Montreal Canadiens (1973, 1976-79) and twice won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP (1976-77, 1977-78). He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1977 as MVP of the playoffs.

After 14 seasons with the Canadiens, he played one season with the New York Rangers and two with the Quebec Nordiques before retiring in 1991.

A Hockey Hall of Fame member, Lafleur had been battling lung cancer, and other ailments, since 2019.

Fellow former Canadiens stars Maurice Richard and Jean Beliveau also had state funerals in 2000 and 2014, respectively.