{"id":337227,"date":"2026-05-29T08:24:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T08:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/337227\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T08:24:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T08:24:09","slug":"claude-lemieux-who-made-nhl-comeback-with-san-jose-sharks-in-2008-09-dies-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/337227\/","title":{"rendered":"Claude Lemieux, who made NHL comeback with San Jose Sharks in 2008-09, dies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Longtime forward Claude Lemieux, one of hockey\u2019s fiercest competitors and greatest agitators during a memorable 21-year NHL career<\/a> that included four Stanley Cup championships and a one-year stint in the San Jose Sharks organization, died unexpectedly<\/a> on Thursday. He was 60.<\/p>\n

The NHL Alumni Association<\/a> announced Lemieux\u2019s death on Thursday morning on social media. According\u00a0to the Palm Beach County Sheriff\u2019s Office, per South Florida television station WPBF, Lemieux died by suicide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a statement, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman called Lemieux \u201cone of the greatest big-game Players in hockey history,\u201d and offered condolences to Claude\u2019s wife, Deborah, and his four children, Brendan, Claudia, Michael, and Christopher.<\/p>\n

The Sharks also remembered Lemieux, saying in a statement, \u201cThe entire Sharks organization is saddened to learn of the passing of Sharks alum and NHL legend Claude Lemieux. Our thoughts are with the Lemieux family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lemieux played 1,197 regular-season<\/a> NHL games with six teams from 1983 to 2003, notably winning Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens in 1986, the New Jersey Devils in 1995 and 2000, and the Colorado Avalanche in 1996.<\/p>\n

Lemieux also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP with the Devils in 1995 after he had 13 goals in 20 postseason games. He retired at the end of the 2003 playoffs as a member of the Dallas Stars.<\/p>\n

But after five seasons away from professional hockey, Lemieux, who had entered the real estate business, missed playing and started working toward a comeback in June 2008.<\/p>\n

At 43 years old, Lemieux hired a personal trainer, shed 25 pounds, and signed with the Worcester Sharks on Nov. 25, then was inked to a one-year, two-way deal by then-San Jose general manager Doug Wilson in late December.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided you only live once, so go for it,\u201d Lemieux said. \u201cThe way teams are built nowadays, the way the salary structure is, if you\u2019re not concerned with the financial terms of a contract, you can get an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lemieux played 23 games in Worcester before he was recalled by San Jose in mid-January.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe return of Claude Lemieux from retirement on the ice during warm-ups.San Jose Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks in the first period at HP Pavilion in San Jose Calif. on January 20, 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something my 12-year-old (son Brendan) talked about every time we watched a hockey game,\u201d Lemieux said after his recall. \u201cHe\u2019d ask, \u2018Daddy, could you still play? Are you still a free agent?\u2019 And I would say, \u2018Yeah, once you retire, you\u2019re a free agent for life.\u2019 My 12-year-old and my daughter don\u2019t remember much from my career. This is a big deal for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time, Wilson said the promotion was earned on merit. Lemieux had had three goals and eight assists in his AHL stint.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more than getting in one game and showing up,\u201d Lemieux said of returning to the NHL. \u201cI want to contribute, I want to play well, and do what I can do.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more I was told this was impossible, the more I wanted it. I still feel that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his Sharks debut on Jan. 20, 2009, Lemieux had three hits and three shots on goal in 7:08 of ice time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think that he\u2019ll provide the hockey club some energy and some grit, and that\u2019s all we\u2019re asking of him,\u201d then-Sharks coach Todd McLellan said of Lemieux.<\/p>\n

Lemieux still played with passion. In a feisty Sharks home game against Edmonton on Feb. 17, 2009,<\/a> Lemieux picked up a 10-minute misconduct and a five-minute fighting major after a scrap with Oilers defenseman Theo Peckham, who, at 22, was nearly half of Lemieux\u2019s age.<\/p>\n

Lemieux finished his career with 1,777 penalty minutes, to go with 786 points in 1,215 NHL regular-season games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what fourth lines did for the teams I won Cups with,\u201d Lemieux said in January of that year. \u201cThey were a big part of it. On any team, the fourth-line, third-line guys are going to have a big role, and I\u2019ll take pride in whatever role is going to be assigned to me. I\u2019m ready to go every shift.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a teammate with Sharks legends such as Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Joe Pavelski and current Sharks general manager Mike Grier, Lemieux had one assist in 18 regular-season games as the team went on to finish with the NHL\u2019s best record at 53-18-11 and win the Presidents\u2019 Trophy.<\/p>\n

That season, Lemieux was nominated by members of the Bay Area chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers\u2019 Association as the Sharks\u2019 candidate for the Bill Masterton Trophy, given to the player \u201cwho best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVery deserving,\u201d McLellan said of Lemieux\u2019s selection. \u201cRemarkable what he has gone through to get to where he is. The fact that his mind is clear enough to do what he has done, and physically, he\u2019s a specimen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust to be nominated is very rewarding,\u201d Lemieux said.<\/p>\n

Lemieux played in one playoff game that season as the heavily favored Sharks faced the Anaheim Ducks in the first round. In Game 2, Lemieux, in what would be his last NHL game, had just over five minutes of ice time as the Sharks lost 3-2 to fall into a 2-0 hole in the series. The Ducks would go on to win in six games.<\/p>\n

Years after his playing career ended, Lemieux became an agent and represented several notable NHL players,<\/a> including former Sharks forwards Timo Meier, Fabian Zetterlund, and Melker Karlsson.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Lemieux was honored at Montreal\u2019s Bell Centre, carrying a ceremonial torch onto the ice before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final between the Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday is a dark day for the Canadiens family and the entire hockey community,\u201d Canadiens team owner Geoff Molson said in a statement. \u201cI wish to express my most sincere and deepest condolences to Claude\u2019s family and loved ones. 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we mourn the untimely passing of one of our champions. Our thoughts are with his family on this difficult day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Associated Press contributed to this story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Longtime forward Claude Lemieux, one of hockey\u2019s fiercest competitors and greatest agitators during a memorable 21-year NHL career…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336423,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[404,88,90,89,98,127],"class_list":["post-337227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-nhl","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-san-jose-sharks","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}