NHL legend Claude Lemieux has died, the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to Us Weekly on Thursday, May 28. He was 60.
“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,” NHL Alumni announced on Thursday.
TMZ Sports reported that Lemieux died by suicide and was found on Thursday morning at a business in Florida owned by his family.
Lemieux is survived by his wife, Deborah, sons Brendan, Christopher and Michael and daughter, Claudia.
The sudden death of Lemieux comes just days after he appeared at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Monday, May 25, to carry the torch before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes.
A four-time Stanley Cup champion, Lemieux played 21 seasons in the NHL. Most notably, he spent seven seasons with the Canadiens, six seasons with the New Jersey Devils and five seasons with the Colorado Avalanche.
Notorious for being a pest on the ice, Lemieux was also a prolific offensive player. In 1,215 career regular season games, he scored 379 goals and racked up 407 assists. Over the course of his more than two decades in the league, he also earned 1,777 penalty minutes.
In his post-playing days, Lemieux had successfully transitioned into a career as a sports agent, representing NHL players like the Detroit Red Wings’ Moritz Seider, the Devils’ Timo Meier, the Boston Bruins’ Hampus Lindholm and Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen, who joked about having Lemieux donning the jersey of the opposing Canadiens at Game 3 on Monday.
“He’s like family,” Andersen, 36, told the North State Journal.
After the news of his death was announced, tributes began pouring in from all corners of the sports world.
“We were friends, neighbors, when I went back to Arizona to play, he will be missed,” MLB legend Curt Schilling posted via X.
The San Jose Sharks, for whom Lemieux played the final season of his career in 2008-09, said they were “saddened to learn of the passing of Sharks alum and NHL legend Claude Lemieux.”
“Our thoughts are with the Lemieux family,” the franchise added on social media.
“Absolutely gutting,” hockey writer Mike Commito wrote via X. “Thinking of his family, friends, and former teammates.”
Christine Fréchette, the Prime Minister of Quebec, called Lemieux’s death “a great loss.”
“Claude Lemieux, he was my generation,” Fréchette, 55, shared via X. “A striking figure in our hockey, a player with heart in his belly. His death seems so sudden, just a few days after seeing him proudly carry the torch at the Bell Centre. My thoughts are with his loved ones.”
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