Claude Lemieux, the four-time Stanley Cup champion whose hockey career was built on aggressive, physical play at the rim, has died. He was 60 years old.
The NHL Alumni Association announced Lemieux’s death in a social media post. The cause of death was not immediately available, and it was not clear where Lemieux was when he died.
On Monday night Lemieux was the Montreal Canadiens’ torchbearer ahead of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final at the Bell Centre.
“Today is a dark day for the Canadiens family and the entire hockey community,” Canadiens owner Jeff Moulson said. “Claude was a fierce competitor who rose to the occasion in the big moments, a relentless, courageous and tenacious player who led the team to the highest honours. He embodied the essence of being a Montreal Canadiens player. Today we mourn the untimely passing of one of our heroes. Our thoughts are with his family on this difficult day.”
FILE – New Jersey Devils Claude Lemieux is welcomed to the bench after scoring a goal in the first period of Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals on June 22, 1995.
AP Photo/Bill Costron, file
As a player, Lemieux was a combination of skill and abrasiveness, and was not afraid to push boundaries in the name of competition.
He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for his role in helping the New Jersey Devils win their first championship in 1995. After a year with the Colorado Avalanche, he was suspended for two games for a backhanded hit on Detroit’s Chris Draper on their way to hoisting the Stanley Cup for the first time in their first season since relocating from his native Quebec.
“This is very sad no matter what past or present feelings you hold,” McCarty said. “My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, his friends and the people who were able to see the person off the ice that was not the person on the ice. As I said and I will always call it as I see it ‘If you were on the ice with Claude Lemieux and your back was turned.’ You are an idiot. “But I’m going to turn off the ICE and please. If you’re struggling at all, please reach out to someone and talk to them. Good luck, buddy.”
Lemieux also won the Cup with Montreal in 1986 and returned to the Devils to be part of their title run in 2000. He played 1,449 regular season and playoff games with six different teams from 1983 to 2009.
Commissioner Gary Bettman called Lemieux “one of the greatest big-game players in hockey history.”
Lemieux became an agent in the years after his playing career ended and represented Frederik Andersen of Carolina, Timo Meier of New Jersey, Moritz Seider of Detroit and Hampus Lindholm of Boston among more than a dozen clients in the NHL.
At a meeting in December to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Colorado’s 95th Stanley Cup Championship, Lemieux said of the win: “When it happens, when you’re in the middle of it, you don’t quite appreciate it as much as you should.”
His late former teammate Chris Simon was represented during the on-ice ceremony by his sons. He died in 2024 at the age of 52.
“It’s very difficult, especially with Chris passing away at such a young age,” Lemieux said. “We have to count our blessings — be grateful for the days we have and enjoy and appreciate those times we have each other.”
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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Denver contributed to this report.
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