Politics
Hockey Icon Dies Unexpectedly Days After Appearance At Playoff Game
Claude Lemieux, the four-time Stanley Cup champion known for living in the crease, living in opponents’ heads and scoring when it mattered most, has died. He was 60.
Lemieux made his final public appearance Monday at Montreal’s Bell Centre, carrying the pregame torch ahead of the Canadiens’ Game 3 matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final.
Selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the 1983 NHL Draft out of the QMJHL’s Trois-Rivières Draveurs, Lemieux quickly became a playoff problem for everyone else.
In his first full season in Montreal in 1985-86, Lemieux scored a team-leading 10 goals in 20 playoff games as the Canadiens captured their 23rd Stanley Cup.
Claude Lemieux
After seven seasons in Montreal, Lemieux was traded to the New Jersey Devils before the 1990-91 season. He delivered another signature postseason run in 1995, leading all playoff scorers with 13 goals and winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Devils swept the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final for the franchise’s first championship.
He was traded to the Colorado Avalanche before the following season and became the 10th player in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup in back-to-back years with different teams. Lemieux totaled 12 points in 19 playoff games as Colorado won its first championship.
RIP Claude Lemieux
The legend carried the torch into the Bell Centre just a few days ago at Game 3 pic.twitter.com/tGb9tF5o48
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 28, 2026
Lemieux later returned to New Jersey and won his fourth Cup with the Devils in 1999-2000. Over 234 career playoff games, he scored 78 goals and posted 158 points, including 19 game-winning goals.
In 1,215 regular-season games with the Canadiens, Devils, Avalanche, Phoenix Coyotes and San Jose Sharks, Lemieux scored 379 goals and totaled 786 points.
He was the older brother of former NHL forward Jocelyn Lemieux. His son, Brendan Lemieux, played for five NHL teams over seven seasons.
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