Former NHL Star Claude Lemieux Passes Away

Claude Lemieux, a former NHL player, has reportedly died from what some are calling a broken heart.

Throughout his two decades in the NHL, Lemieux played for the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, and Colorado Avalanche, winning four Stanley Cups. He also holds the position of ninth in playoff scoring history. Yet, since retiring in 2009, he has not been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Friends describe him as a fighter on the ice but noted his sensitivity to rejection, which reportedly weighed heavily on him due to not receiving the Hall of Fame honor.

“He never really moved past this perceived injustice; it felt like a burden he had to carry,” said Rejean Tremblay, a hockey columnist who has known Lemieux for three decades. “The depth of his feelings about this was surprising. He took it really seriously.”

Lemieux was found in his family’s furniture store warehouse in Palm Beach, Florida, early Thursday morning.

Just days before his passing, he had returned to Montreal as a celebrated figure during Game 3 of the NHL Conference Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes. The crowd of 21,000 warmly welcomed him, but it’s speculated that this emotional event brought back deeper feelings.

“That overwhelming wave of love might have stirred up old feelings,” Tremblay mentioned, referencing insights from other NHL associates.

Sources indicate that Lemieux, who was 60 at the time of his death, had not spoken to his children for about a decade, and there were other burdens he felt acutely in the years after retiring.

“It really weighed on him,” Tremblay added.

His family shared that he struggled with depression, though they were unaware of his suicidal intentions. “They never anticipated this; it was shocking,” said Colombe Lacroix, a close family friend present at the scene. “He was having a tough time.”

Lacroix expressed how devastating this news is, mentioning the emotional toll on Lemieux’s son, Brendan, who found his father.

In the days leading up to his death, Claude had visited his parents in Montreal, taking his two eldest sons from his first marriage along for the trip.

Lacroix, close to both Lemieux and his wife Deborah during his playing years with the Avalanche, recently moved to Florida and lived nearby.

“I hugged Claude and thanked him for always being there for me,” she recalled about their last encounter.

“He left us too soon. I sincerely hope he finds peace now.”