After winning the Stanley Cup, Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen remembers New Jersey Devils great Claude Lemieux.
On Sunday night, the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup for the second time in franchise history, and the first since 2006. It was a great team effort by all to get the job done.
Part of that “team” mentality applies to their goaltending. Frederik Anderson started the playoffs and went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. After an injury sustained early in the series, Brandon Bussi went in and stole the show. Together, they formed a Stanley Cup-winning duo.
Andersen has had many ups and downs throughout his career. There have been plenty of long playoff runs that failed, but he’s finally going to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.
After the game was over, Andersen did an interview with Elliotte Friedman and David Amber of Sportsnet, and he was exceptionally honest about his feelings for New Jersey Devils legend Claude Lemieux.
Lemieux, who won the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy with the Devils, passed away via suicide during the Conference Finals. He was a friend, mentor, and agent of Andersen, who was impacted greatly by this loss.
"It's tough to really describe how much [Claude Lemieux] meant to me and how cool it is to have my name on that trophy with him," Anderson said after talking about how Lemieux battled for him as his agent and his friend.
Although it has been a tough time for Andersen as he grieves this incredible loss, he has acknowledged that having his name engraved on the same trophy as Lemieux is special. It is also forever.
While Andersen was playing through intense sadness, while also dealing with a physical injury, he was spectacular. Throughout the playoffs, he played a key role in the Hurricanes getting it done, and he should be proud. The competitor that Lemieux was lives on in players like Andersen, who knew and learned from him well.
Both on and off the ice, Claude Lemieux was someone who made everyone around him better. He was a fierce and tough competitor in between the lines, but he was a Hall of Fame-caliber person away from the rink.
The way Andersen spoke of his mentor after one of the greatest achievements of his life speaks volumes about the help he received from someone he looked up to.
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