“It was such a treat to see what he did with the torch and then, next thing you know, he’s no longer part of life,” former teammate Rick Green says of former Canadien Claude Lemieux, who had carried the torch into the Bell Centre prior to Game 3 of the National Hockey League Eastern Conference Final playoff against the Carolina Hurricanes in Montreal on Monday, May 25, 2026.
Lemieux was 20 when the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1986 after he scored the winning goal in overtime of Game 7 at the Forum in a second-round series against the Hartford Whalers.
It was one of four Stanley Cups Lemieux would win during his 21-year NHL career. He also won with the New Jersey Devils in 1995 — when he earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP — with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 and with the Devils again in 2000.
Flyers’ Ron Hextall stops a shot from Canadiens’ Claude Lemieux in November 1987. (George Bird/Montreal Gazette)
Claude Lemieux (right) of the New Jersey Devils and Scott Gomez celebrate with the Stanley Cup after winning the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals game against the Dallas Stars on June 10, 2000, in Dallas. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) Jim McIsaac / Getty Images
Claude Lemieux with different kind of sticks — golf clubs in 1985.(Pierre Obendrauf/Montreal Gazette) Claude Lemieux / Montreal Gazette
Playing with the Anciens Canadiens, hockey legend Guy Lafleur (centre) smiles along with teammates Pierre Turgeon (left) and Claude Lemieux (right) during Lafleur’s farewell game at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Dec. 5, 2010. (Dario Ayala/Montreal Gazette)
Claude Lemieux, right, celebrates a goal with teammate Mats Naslund against the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup playoff semifinals in May 1986. (Gazette files)
Former Canadien Claude Lemieux carries the torch into the Bell Centre prior to the Montreal vs. the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the National Hockey League Eastern Conference Final in Montreal on May 25, 2026. (John Mahoney / MONTREAL GAZETTE) John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
Claude Lemieux in December 1986. (Tedd Church/Montreal Gazette)
Canadiens’ Claude Lemieux lifts the Stanley Cup over his head in celebration after winning the championship over the Calgary Flames on May 24, 1986. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Claude Lemieux carries the torch in the opening ceremony of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes at the Bell Centre on May 25, 2026, in Montreal. (Photo by Matt Garies/NHLI via Getty Images) Matt Garies / NHLI via Getty Images
Claude Lemieux of the New Jersey Devils celebrates with the Stanley Cup as he skates around the rink after winning the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals game against the Dallas Stars on June 10, 2000, in Dallas. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) Jim McIsaac / Getty Images