MONTREAL (CP) — In the Montreal Canadiens' dressing room there is a sign that refers to the passing of the torch from one generation of the National Hockey League team to the other.

Howie Morenz passed it on to Maurice Richard, who tossed it to Jean Beliveau, who in turn handed it to Guy Lafleur.

Lafleur's turn with the torch ended Monday when he announced his retirement after a glorious 14-year career with the Canadiens, and judging from the reaction of teammates and rivals, Lafleur held the torch high.

“After Bobby Orr retired, Guy was the most dominant player in the NHL,” said Serge Savard, the Canadiens managing director who was a teammate of Lafleur in that era. “When we won all those Stanley Cups in a row, Lafleur was scoring 50 or more goals a season.”

Savard was referring to the years 1975-76 through 1978-79 when Montreal won four Cups, a string of success that coincided with Orr's retirement.

“He did everything so naturally,” said Jacques Lemaire, the Canadiens head coach who was a frequent linemate of Lafleur in the glory days. “There was no need for a game plan with Guy.

“He did things on the ice that we had never seen before.”

Bob Gainey, the Canadiens captain, recalled a game a few seasons ago against Chicago Black Hawks that the Canadiens lost 8-7, but Lafleur scored a goal by making his way through almost the entire team, lifting the crowd from their seats.

“Everybody, including the players just stopped and watched him,” said Gainey.

But the patented Lafleur rushes, the burst of speed from blueline to blueline with his golden mane flowing, followed by the whistling slap shot, had diminished in recent seasons.

Some people have suggested that Lafleur was never the same player after the 1981 car accident in which he fell asleep at the wheel and came within inches of losing his life when a sign post he struck smashed through the front windshield and pierced his earlobe.

In that same season, Lafleur was sidelined by injuries eight times, reducing his playing time