Claude Lemieux dies at 60: NHL playoff legend, four-time champion
Four-time Stanley Cup champion and longtime NHL forward Claude Lemieux has died at the age of 60.
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen was playing Game 5 with a heavy heart following the death of substitute and four-time Stanley Cup champion Claude Lemieux.
Andersen had a strong performance in the Eastern Conference Finals, stopping 23 shots in a 6-1 victory and leading the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2006. This is also Andersen’s first expedition.
“I can’t say enough about this team and the support they’ve given me,” he told TNT. “It was amazing.”
Lemieux died on Thursday at the age of 60, three days after attending the Canadiens’ torch passing ceremony before Game 3 at the Bell Center in Montreal.
Lemieux thought the Canadiens were the team that drafted him and won his first Stanley Cup as a rookie, but he also had ties to the Hurricanes. In addition to having Andersen as a client, his son Brendan played for Carolina in the 2023-24 season. The Hurricanes paid tribute to Claude Lemieux before Friday’s game.
Asked what he would say if Lemieux were still here, Andersen told TNT that his agent would say, “Just go get it.”
“He’s the ultimate competitor and has the biggest heart,” the goalie said. “He wanted a lot from me and this team.”
