Claude Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion who ranks fifth in NHL history for most playoff games played, died at 60 years old.
Four-time Stanley Cup champion Claude Lemieux has died, the NHL Alumni Association announced Thursday.
Lemieux was 60. The alumni association did not share a cause of death.
Lemieux, who played the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens, appeared at the Bell Centre on Monday to raise the torch ahead of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final.
The Buckingham, Que., native played 1,215 career NHL games, recording 379 goals, 407 assists and 786 points. He earned a reputation as a clutch playoff performer and as a pest on the ice.
He ranks fifth in most career playoff games played, with 234. During that time, he scored 80 goals and 158 points. He also logged 529 penalty minutes during the post-season, the third-most in NHL history.
"He was loved by his wife and four children, and on behalf of the Lemieux family, we kindly ask that everyone respect their privacy during this difficult time," the NHL Alumni Association said.
Claude Lemieux raised the torch ahead of Game 3 between the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes on May 25. (Eric Bolte-Imagn Images)The Canadiens selected Lemieux in the second round of the 1983 NHL draft. In the following two seasons, Lemieux mainly played in the QMJHL, winning the President's Cup with the Verdun Jr. Canadiens as QMJHL playoff champions in 1985 and earning playoff MVP honors.
In 1985-86, despite playing most of the season with AHL Sherbrooke, the Canadiens benefitted from Lemieux fierce style of play in the playoffs. A 20-year-old Lemieux scored 10 times, including four game-winning goals and two overtime-winners, and logged 16 points in 20 games as the Habs won the Stanley Cup.
By that point, Lemieux was in the NHL for good. He was the sixth player in Canadiens history to start his career with three straight season of at least 20 goals, and he
In 1990-91, Montreal traded Lemieux to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Sylvain Turgeon.
Lemieux's scoring reached new levels in New Jersey. He scored a career-high 41 goals in 1991-92 and a career-high 81 points the following season.
Although his regular-season scoring dropped to 44 points in 1993-94 and 19 points in 45 games in 1994-95, Lemieux consistently stepped up his game in the playoffs.
In 1993-94, Lemieux had 18 points in 20 games as the Devils lost in the conference final. But in 1994-95, he helped New Jersey go two steps further. Not only did they get to the Cup final, but they won it with crucial help from Lemieux, who had 13 goals and 16 points. He was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
Lemieux won the Stanley Cup the season after that with the Avalanche after they acquired him from New Jersey for Steve Thomas in October 1995.
He returned to New Jersey in the 1999-2000 season to win the Cup one last time. Lemieux then played for the Phoenix Coyotes for parts of three seasons, the Dallas Stars in 2002-03 and made a comeback with the San Jose Sharks in 2008-09.
On the international stage, Lemieux won the World Junior Championship with Team Canada in 1985, putting up five points in six games. He also won the Canada Cup in 1987.
After retiring, Lemieux became a player agent, most recently the president of hockey in North America for 4Sports Hockey. He represented Timo Meier, Mortiz Seider, Rickard Rakell, Hampus Lindholm and more, including pending UFAs Frederik Andersen and Rasmus Andersson.
Lemieux is survived by his brother, Jocelyn Lemieux, his wife, Deborah, and four children, Brendan, Claudia, Michael and Christopher. Jocelyn Lemieux played 598 career NHL games, and Brendan Lemieux has played 307 career NHL games and currently plays for HC Davos in the Swiss National League.