Nicknamed "Pointu" (a play on his name in French, where "pointu" carries most of the same meanings as "sharp" or "pointy" in English), Lapointe was famous for his powerful slapshot and brutal body-checks. Along with defencemen
Larry Robinson and
Serge Savard, Lapointe was a member of the "Big Three" and played a key role in the Canadiens' winning the
Stanley Cup six times in
1971,
1973,
1976,
1977,
1978,
1979. He was traded to the
St. Louis Blues in
1982 and signed with the
Boston Bruins after the following season. He retired in 1984 following a series of injuries. Lapointe was inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993. In 884 NHL games, Lapointe recorded 171 goals and 451 assists for 622 points. He still holds the Montreal Canadiens' record for most goals in a season for a defenceman (28), and most goals for a rookie defenceman (15). His number (#5) was retired by the Canadiens on November 8, 2014. Since the #5 is already retired on behalf of
Bernie Geoffrion, they will both share the honour. Interestingly, similar to
Bernie Geoffrion, his number was raised side by side with the number of other members whose numbers were already retired before him, though this time being the 2 other members of the "Big Three",
Serge Savard and
Larry Robinson (Savard and Robinson's banner were lowered halfway and were raised back up to the rafters with Lapointe's banner, just like what they did to Bernie Geoffrion and his father-in-law
Howie Morenz).
Pranks Lapointe was also known for his sense of humour and being a prankster. One of his most famous pranks is probably the Vaseline coated handshake with then-Prime Minister
Pierre Elliot Trudeau as he was visiting the Canadiens' locker room. Another time, Lapointe "stole" rookie
Mario Tremblay's new
Pontiac Grand Prix and relocated it to a different level of that parking garage, then waiting a few days before disclosing this to Tremblay who had already filed a police report and contacted insurance. ==Coaching and scouting==