Claude Lemieux, 4-time Stanley Cup champion, dies at age 60

Claude Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion, died at age 60. The NHL Alumni Association announced his death, and no cause of death or location at the time of death was immediately provided. Lemieux had served as a torchbearer for the Montreal Canadiens before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final at the Bell Centre. Canadiens owner Geoff Molson praised Lemieux as a relentless, courageous, and tenacious player who embodied the Canadiens. Lemieux combined skill with physical abrasiveness and was willing to cross lines for competition. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 1995 with the New Jersey Devils and later won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche, despite a suspension for a hit on Kris Draper. Joe Sakic described him as a fierce competitor, loyal friend, and family man who enjoyed time with his grandchildren.

"“Today is a dark day for the Canadiens family and the entire hockey community,” Canadiens owner Geoff Molson said. “A fierce competitor who rose to the occasion in big moments, Claude was a relentless, courageous, and tenacious player who led the team to the highest honors. He embodied the very essence of being a Montreal Canadiens player. Today we mourn the untimely passing of one of our champions. Our thoughts are with his family on this difficult day.”"

"“He was also a loyal friend who would do anything for his teammates and someone you could always count on,” Sakic wrote. “Most importantly, he was a wonderful family man and there is nothing he enjoyed more than spending time with his grandchildren. Today is a very sad day for the Avalanche family and Claude will be missed by all of us who had the pleas"

"As a player, Lemieux was a mix of skill and abrasiveness, not afraid to cross the line in the name of competition. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for his role in helping the New Jersey Devils win their first championship in 1995. A year later with the Colorado Avalanche, he was suspended for two games for a hit from behind on Detroit's Kris Draper on the way to them hoisting the Stanley Cup for the first time in their first season since moving from his native Quebec."

"Claude Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion whose hockey career was built on playing on the edge with ferocity and physicality, has died. He was 60. The NHL Alumni Association announced Lemieux's death in a post on social media. A cause of death was not immediately available, nor was it clear where Lemieux was when he died."

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