Claude Lemieux

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Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Nickname(s)
Pepe
The Other Lemieux
Height
Weight		 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
215 lb (98 kg/15 st 5 lb)
Pro clubs Montreal Canadiens
New Jersey Devils
Colorado Avalanche
Phoenix Coyotes
Dallas Stars
Nationality Flag of Canada Canada
Born July 16, 1965 (1965-07-16) (age 42),
Buckingham, QC, CAN
NHL Draft 26th overall, 1983
Montreal Canadiens
Pro career 1983 – 2004

Claude Percy Lemieux (born July 16, 1965 in Buckingham, Quebec) 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 formerly the president of the ECHL Phoenix Roadrunners.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

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 1995–96 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 all 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. 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.

However, the Wings would get get payback for Lemieux's actions on March 26, 1997 when Darren McCarty attacked Lemieux from behind and Lemieux just "turtled"(kneeled and covered his head while being attacked) in what became known as the Red Wings-Avalanche brawl 1997. The Red Wings eventually won that game in OT.

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.

[edit] Retirement

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.

[edit] Awards & Achievements

  • Four Stanley Cup rings (1986, 1995, 1996, 2000)
  • Conn Smythe Trophy - Stanley Cup MVP (1995)
  • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Hall of Fame (2005)

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1982–83 Trois Rivieres Draveurs QMJHL 62 28 38 66 187 4 1 0 1 30
1983–84 Montreal Canadiens NHL 8 1 1 2 12 -- -- -- -- --
1983–84 Verdun Juniors QMJHL 51 41 45 86 225 9 8 12 20 63
1983–84 Nova-Scotia Voyageurs AHL -- -- -- -- -- 2 1 0 1 6
1984–85 Montreal Canadiens NHL 1 0 1 1 7 -- -- -- -- --
1984–85 Verdun Junior Canadiens QMJHL 52 58 66 124 152 14 23 17 40 38
1985–86 Sherbrooke Canadiens AHL 58 21 32 53 145 -- -- -- -- --
1985–86 Montreal Canadiens NHL 10 1 2 3 22 20 10 6 16 68
1986–87 Montreal Canadiens NHL 76 27 26 53 156 17 4 9 13 41
1987–88 Montreal Canadiens NHL 78 31 30 61 137 11 3 2 5 20
1988–89 Montreal Canadiens NHL 69 29 22 51 136 18 4 3 7 58
1989–90 Montreal Canadiens NHL 39 8 10 18 106 11 1 3 4 38
1990–91 New Jersey Devils NHL 78 30 17 47 105 7 4 0 4 34
1991–92 New Jersey Devils NHL 74 41 27 68 109 7 4 3 7 26
1992–93 New Jersey Devils NHL 77 30 51 81 155 5 2 0 2 19
1993–94 New Jersey Devils NHL 79 18 26 44 86 20 7 11 18 44
1994–95 New Jersey Devils NHL 45 6 13 19 86 20 13 3 16 20
1995–96 Colorado Avalanche NHL 79 39 32 71 117 19 5 7 12 55
1996–97 Colorado Avalanche NHL 45 11 17 28 43 17 13 10 23 32
1997–98 Colorado Avalanche NHL 78 26 27 53 115 7 3 3 6 8
1998–99 Colorado Avalanche NHL 82 27 24 51 102 19 3 11 14 26
1999–00 Colorado Avalanche NHL 13 3 6 9 4 -- -- -- -- --
1999–00 New Jersey Devils NHL 70 17 21 38 86 23 4 6 10 28
2000–01 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 46 10 16 26 58 -- -- -- -- --
2001–02 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 82 16 25 41 70 5 0 0 0 2
2002–03 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 36 6 8 14 30 -- -- -- -- --
2002–03 Dallas Stars NHL 32 2 4 6 14 7 0 1 1 10
2003–04 Zug Swiss-A 7 2 3 5 4 5 1 3 4 8
NHL totals 1197 379 406 785 1756 233 80 78 158 529

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Brian Leetch		 Winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy
1995		 Succeeded by
Joe Sakic