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Claude Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion and famed villain of the Detroit Red Wings, has passed away.
Lemieux was 60. His death was announced by the NHL Alumni Association on a verified social media account on Thursday, May 28. No cause or date of death was provided.
“The National Hockey League mourns the passing of Claude Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion and one of the greatest big-game players in hockey history," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.
Lemieux was just in Montreal earlier this week, where he served as the Montreal Canadiens’ torchbearer at Bell Centre ahead of Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes.
RELATED: Darren McCarty would be tossed from Wings-Avs' 'Fight Night' in today's NHL
Lemieux won the Stanley Cup four times – with the Canadiens in 1986, the New Jersey Devils in 1995, and the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 and the Devils again in 2000.
It was during his time with the Colorado Avalanche, from 1995-96 to 1999-2000, that he gained fame in the metro Detroit area. The feud was sparked during Game 6 of the 1996 Western Conference finals, when Lemieux hit Wings forawrd Kris Draper from behind, smashing Draper’s face into the boards and leaving him with a broken jaw and shattered orbital bone.
The next season, Lemieux was injured the first two times the Wings and Avalanche played one another. He played in the third game, March 16 in Colorado.
Ten days later, the teams met for the last time in the regular season at Joe Louis Arena. The Wings were smarting having lost the first three games to the defending Stanley Cup champions.
The date, March 26, 1997, is famous in Wings lore.
“It was the last game before the playoffs,” Larionov said. “It was crucial game for us to overcome hump and send message we are not soft.”
The message became part of hockey lore.
The main event happened late in the first period, shortly after a collision between Igor Larionov and Avalanche forward Peter Forsberg – two of the most cerebral − and least likely to fight − forwards in the game.
At the same time, Darren McCarty, the Wings’ enforcer and one of Draper’s close friends, eyed Lemieux and laid into him with a right hook. Lemieux didn’t fight back. He just dropped to the ice and turtled, content to let officials drag McCarty away.
After that, it was pandemonium, with multiple scuffles breaking out.
The rivalry was fanned the following season when Lemieux fought McCarty during a November game at the Joe.
The Wings lost to the Avalanche in the second round in 1999 and 2000, but beat them in the 2002 playoffs, capping a seven-game conference final with a 7-0 victory. They met again in the playoffs in 2008, when the Wings swept the Avalanche in the second round.
McCarty and Lemieux would team up in later years and make public events regarding their feud to raise money for charity.
Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Claude Lemieux, arch enemy of Detroit Red Wings, dies at 60
Continue reading...
Lemieux was 60. His death was announced by the NHL Alumni Association on a verified social media account on Thursday, May 28. No cause or date of death was provided.
“The National Hockey League mourns the passing of Claude Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion and one of the greatest big-game players in hockey history," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.
Lemieux was just in Montreal earlier this week, where he served as the Montreal Canadiens’ torchbearer at Bell Centre ahead of Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes.
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RELATED: Darren McCarty would be tossed from Wings-Avs' 'Fight Night' in today's NHL
Lemieux won the Stanley Cup four times – with the Canadiens in 1986, the New Jersey Devils in 1995, and the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 and the Devils again in 2000.
It was during his time with the Colorado Avalanche, from 1995-96 to 1999-2000, that he gained fame in the metro Detroit area. The feud was sparked during Game 6 of the 1996 Western Conference finals, when Lemieux hit Wings forawrd Kris Draper from behind, smashing Draper’s face into the boards and leaving him with a broken jaw and shattered orbital bone.
The next season, Lemieux was injured the first two times the Wings and Avalanche played one another. He played in the third game, March 16 in Colorado.
Ten days later, the teams met for the last time in the regular season at Joe Louis Arena. The Wings were smarting having lost the first three games to the defending Stanley Cup champions.
The date, March 26, 1997, is famous in Wings lore.
“It was the last game before the playoffs,” Larionov said. “It was crucial game for us to overcome hump and send message we are not soft.”
The message became part of hockey lore.
The main event happened late in the first period, shortly after a collision between Igor Larionov and Avalanche forward Peter Forsberg – two of the most cerebral − and least likely to fight − forwards in the game.
You must be registered for see images attach
At the same time, Darren McCarty, the Wings’ enforcer and one of Draper’s close friends, eyed Lemieux and laid into him with a right hook. Lemieux didn’t fight back. He just dropped to the ice and turtled, content to let officials drag McCarty away.
After that, it was pandemonium, with multiple scuffles breaking out.
The rivalry was fanned the following season when Lemieux fought McCarty during a November game at the Joe.
The Wings lost to the Avalanche in the second round in 1999 and 2000, but beat them in the 2002 playoffs, capping a seven-game conference final with a 7-0 victory. They met again in the playoffs in 2008, when the Wings swept the Avalanche in the second round.
McCarty and Lemieux would team up in later years and make public events regarding their feud to raise money for charity.
Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Claude Lemieux, arch enemy of Detroit Red Wings, dies at 60
Continue reading...
