Claude Lemieux
Claude Lemieux is a former professional ice hockey player active in the National Hockey League from 1983
to 2003. He is one of only eight players in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup with three different teams. Lemieux is currently the president of the ECHL Phoenix Roadrunners.
Lemieux was drafted in the second round of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.
He played with the Canadiens from 1983 to 1990, winning the Stanley Cup with the team in 1986.
In September 1990 Montreal traded Lemieux to the New Jersey Devils for Sylvain Turgeon. Lemieux won the Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 1995. He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy that year as the playoff MVP. Shortly before the beginning of the 1995-96 NHL season, Lemieux was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in
a three-team deal that also involved Wendel Clark and Steve Thomas. When the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 1996 Lemieux became only the fifth player in NHL history to win back-to-back Stanley Cups with different teams.
In November 1999 Lemieux was traded back to New Jersey in a deal which sent Brian Rolston to Colorado. He won his fourth and final Stanley Cup with the Devils in 2000. Later that year, Lemieux signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Coyotes.
In January 2003 the Coyotes traded him to the Dallas Stars for Scott Pellerin and a conditional draft pick. Lemieux ended his NHL playing career with Dallas at the conclusion of the 2002-03 NHL season. Later in 2003, Lemieux briefly played for EV Zug in Switzerland.
Throughout his career Lemieux was noted for playing his best games during the postseason. On three occasions he scored more goals during the playoffs than he did during the regular season (1985-86 with Montreal, 1994-95 with New Jersey, and 1996-97 with Colorado). Lemieux retired with 80 career playoff goals, eighth all-time in the NHL.
Lemieux also had a reputation as one of the league's dirtiest players; in fact, a recent ESPN special entitled "The Top 10 Most Hated NHL Players of All Time" ranked Claude first. While playing for Montreal, during a playoff game against the Calgary Flames, Claude Lemieux bit Calgary's Jim Peplinski on the finger during a scuffle, prompting the Calgary winger to say, "I didn't know they allowed cannibalism in the NHL". Lemieux's title of being a dirty player was solidified in a 1996 incident with the Avalanche when he violently checked Kris Draper of the Detroit Red Wings into the boards during a playoff series, causing Draper to suffer a broken jaw, broken nose and broken cheekbone, all of which led to Draper having reconstructive surgery on his face and also having his jaw wired shut for several weeks. Draper also suffered a concussion from the hit. The hit was dangerous and more importantly, made from behind. This incident is generally believed to have sparked an often-bitter rivalry between the two teams that continues to this day. Unhappy with his actions, the NHL suspended him 2 games, despite outcry from some fans who felt that Lemieux deserved a harsher penalty.
Later, Lemieux was criticized after a 1997 fight against Darren McCarty in which he "turtled" (i.e. kneeled and covered his head while being punched). The fight with Darren McCarty was a response to the Kris Draper hit. Lemieux never dropped his gloves during the incident and McCarty received a double minor roughing penalty.
Claude Lemieux has no familial relation to Mario Lemieux, who was his contemporary in the NHL. However, Claude Lemieux's younger brother, Jocelyn Lemieux, also enjoyed a lengthy career in the NHL.
In 2005 Lemieux became president of the current incarnation of the Phoenix Roadrunners.
In 2007 Lemieux took part in the second season of the Spike TV television show Pros vs. Joes.