The 1980-81 season was a fall from grace for the Montreal Canadiens as the dynasty that dominated the 70s was gone. Along with it went the star power of Guy Lafleur, who was struggling with injuries and lowered production, blaming the team for not providing him with the sort of support he enjoyed in the prime of his career.
Meanwhile, a federal tax reform hit a lot of professional athletes hard. Lafleur, in the midst of a war of words with the Canadiens managing director, Irving Grundman, was seeking to re-open his contract to counter these new measures.