For Habs fans and the greater hockey community, the death of Guy Lafleur marks the loss of one of the most beloved and iconic figures in NHL history, but for a family in Portage du Fort, Lafleur’s legacy goes beyond the ice.

Growing up, Brenda Dufresne remembers the many nights spent . . .

watching Lafleur with her dad. “I grew up with him, I felt like I knew him,” she said, referring to Lafleur. “He was in my living room all through hockey season with my dad.”

Dufresne’s father, Wayne Troke, was a lifelong Habs fan, with an impressive collection of magazines and memorabilia dedicated to his favourite team.

For the Trokes, Lafleur was a hero on the ice, but that would change in 2018, when Dufresne and her family were trying to find a way to help their father cope with a recent cancer diagnosis.

After some thought, Dufresne imagined how incredible it would be for her father to meet the man that had brought her family together so many times through hockey.

She reached out to her friend, BOOM 99.7’s Dylan Black, to see if he had any connections to anyone that could help her father meet Lafleur. After some thought, Black connected Dufresne with Liam Maguire, a well-respected hockey historian from Ottawa.

At the time, Maguire had been well-acquainted with Lafleur for at least 25 years, but admitted that Dufresne’s wish was unlikely.

Maguire contacted Lafleur nonetheless. After a quick phone call, Lafleur simply requested coordinates for a place to land a helicopter.

In disbelief, Dufresne reached out to her contacts in Shawville and eventually arranged for the helicopter to land at the Donald New Memorial Airfield. In a recent interview, Dufresne said that the lead up was “just so surreal.”

A few days later, Defresne’s and her family took their father to the airfield and watched in-awe as Lafleur’s helicopter lowered from the sky.

Still unaware of the pilot’s identity, Troke was reserved at first, but warmed up as Lafleur introduced himself.

Dufresne recalled how Lafleur never left her father’s side and took the time to help wherever he could. “The way he reacted to my father that day, it was special, it was personal, he was there out of the kindness and greatness of his heart,” she said. “The way he stood beside him and he helped him stand up and he helped him turn around, it was grace, it was with genuine concern and depth.”

Maguire was also in attendance, having been picked up by Lafleur at the Rockcliffe Airport on his way to Shawviille.

Maguire remembers reminiscing over hockey history with Lafleur and Troke, even helping Lafleur recall some of his own history. “I remember Guy was on the cover of one of [the magazines] and Wayne looked at Guy and he said ‘What year would this have been?’ and Guy looked at it and said ‘I don’t know. Liam, when was this?’”

“I’ve had some good fortune in terms of interacting with a lot of people in the sport of hockey that a lot of people care about and I have had some tremendous experiences with these guys,” said Maguire. “I’ve never had an afternoon like that or an experience like that.” Maguire continued, “That to me is the number one, by far, bar none, there’s nothing that rivals it before or since.”

Forever amazed by the event, Dufresne remembers her father passionately reflecting on their surreal meeting with Lafleur until the very end. “I’m really hoping that they’re up there together,” she said. “Maybe they’re getting to sit down and have that conversation all over again.”

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