Claude Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion and one of the NHL’s most polarizing playoff performers, has died at age 60, the NHL Alumni Association confirmed Thursday.
His death ends a career that spanned more than two decades and left an unmistakable imprint on some of hockey’s most intense postseason moments. For teammates, he was a difference-maker in championship runs; for opponents — particularly in Detroit — he was a central figure in one of the sport’s most bitter rivalries.
The roots of the animosity between Lemieux and the Red Wings actually began in the 1995 Stanley Cup playoffs, when he was with the New Jersey Devils, who swept the Red Wings in the finals. The bad blood carried over to the next year, when during Game 6 of the Western Conference finals, Lemieux checked Detroit’s Kris Draper from behind, sending Draper to the hospital. Draper’s jaw was wired shut, and Detroit’s season was over; Colorado celebrating that night at McNichols Sports Arena.
“A lot of hockey fans were quite upset,” Lemieux said. “It happened. If I could’ve taken it back, I would’ve taken it back as soon as it happened. But it’s a fast game.”
Then came March 26, 1997, the last meeting between the rivals during the regular season — but almost certainly, a preview of another Western Conference playoff series. A series of fights culminated in an epic battle between Lemieux and the Red Wings’ Darren McCarty, galvanizing the team as Lemieux became known for going ‘turtle.’
A native of Buckingham, Quebec, Lemieux broke into the NHL after being selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the 1983 draft. He went on to play 21 seasons in the league, skating for six teams and building a reputation as a clutch scorer and relentless agitator who thrived when the stakes were highest.
Lemieux’s resume included 1,215 regular-season games, 379 goals and 786 points, along with 80 goals in 234 playoff games — production that cemented him among the NHL’s most effective postseason scorers. He won four Stanley Cups during his career, capturing titles with Montreal in 1986, New Jersey in 1995 and 2000, and Colorado in 1996. His 1995 run with the Devils remains his signature achievement, when he scored 13 playoff goals and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
Much of Lemieux’s legacy was defined by his ability to deliver in decisive moments, but also by his edge. He was widely regarded as one of the league’s most effective agitators, a player capable of shifting a series both on the scoresheet and through physical play. That style helped fuel one of hockey’s fiercest rivalries — the mid-1990s battles between the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings — after Lemieux’s hit on Detroit’s Kris Draper during the 1996 playoffs sparked years of animosity between the teams.
Over the course of his career, Lemieux also played for the Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks, even returning for a brief comeback late in his career after stepping away from the NHL. After retiring, he remained closely tied to the game, working as a player agent and representing a number of NHL clients.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Claude Lemieux, 4-time Stanley Cup winner dies at 60
Reporting by The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
