Former Avs great Claude Lemieux was smart, dangerous, imperfect. He made breathtaking plays in the clutch. He delivered hits that made us cringe.
In the arena, he was a legendary competitor. Outside of uniform, he was pleasant, loyal, accommodating.
Lemieux died Thursday at the age of 60 in Lake Park, Florida. Authorities said the cause of death was suicide.
The news comes three days after Lemieux carried the torch into Bell Centre before the Montreal Canadiens faced the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.
Seeing the smile on his face, the pride in his eyes, the heart breaks knowing he was masking pain.
Hockey was better with him in it.
On the ice, where he won four Stanley Cup rings with Montreal, Colorado and New Jersey, scoring 80 postseason goals. Off it as an agent, where he represented more than a dozen clients.
Lemieux was a polarizing figure in the Avs-Red Wings games, but kindled a friendship with Detroit tough guy Darren McCarty following an alumni event in 2016, leading them to participate in documentaries about how much the rivalry meant to the game.
Lemieux was never an official ambassador for the sport, but almost every conversation with him revealed his love for it.
He played 21 seasons, including from 1995 to 1999 with the Avalanche. After a six-year absence, he came out of retirement in 2009, appearing in 18 games with the San Jose Sharks at the age of 43.
I knew Lemieux as a young journalist, covering Avs home games during the 1996-97 and ’97-98 seasons for the Longmont Daily Times-Call. He was a tremendous scorer, and an all-pro agitator. Lemieux made skin crawl. And goalies flinch.
Teammates loved him. Opponents loathed him.
But the story of Lemieux with the Avs traces back to 1995, and how much they needed him.
General manager Pierre Lacroix added Lemieux three days before the former Quebec Nordiques’ inaugural game as the Colorado Avalanche at McNichols Arena. He gave the Avs an edge, and the addition of Mike Keane and Patrick Roy two months later positioned the franchise to win the Stanley Cup.
“Pierre recognized we had to get experience and he traded for Claude, Keane and Patrick. That was a lot of championships coming to our group combining with good young players,” Peter Forsberg told The Post a few months back. “Nobody still thought we would win it given how far ahead Detroit was in the standings. But as soon as we got to the playoffs, we knew we were going to do it.”
The journey will always be tied to what happened against the Red Wings in Game 6 of the 1996 Western Conference Final. Lemieux hit Kris Draper into the boards, causing multiple facial fractures. The Avs advanced and toppled the Florida Panthers to win the Stanley Cup.
The Avs’ standard of excellence and a rivalry with Detroit were born. And Lemieux was intertwined in both.
On March 26, 1997, the Red Wings sought retribution as McCarty went after Lemieux, triggering a full-scale brawl with goalies Roy and Mike Vernon in a bloody fight at center ice. Keane called out the Red Wings as gutless for waiting for a home game to exact revenge.
Lemieux, known as “Pepe,” understood his role in the acrimony, and never shied from it, even if he did not always drop his gloves.
“Rivalries are really good for sports. They are born, sometimes, just from not liking each other. Or from playing in the conference finals or Stanley Cup finals. But that became one of the greatest rivalries in the league of all-time,” Lemieux told The Post in December at a 30-year Avs reunion at the Paramount Theatre. “It was good for the game. ESPN had its highest ratings.”
In retirement, Lemieux formed a friendship with McCarty, who learned of Lemieux’s passing from Draper. Their bond was one of the more remarkable developments in Lemieux’s life.
“Sad day. Sad day. Another brother gone. If you are struggling out there, no matter what, just reach out for some help,” McCarty said in a video before adding in a social media post. “As I’ve said, and I will always call it as I see it, if you are on the ice with Claude Lemieux and turn your back, you are an idiot. But off the ice I’ll turn mine.”
Those who knew Lemieux well as a teammate marveled at his desire to win and at how he blended enormous skill with feisty spunk. He finished with 379 goals and 1,777 penalty minutes, and only his thumb was without a ring.
You cannot tell the history of the NHL without mentioning his name.
The Avs issued a statement Thursday, reading in part, that Lemieux “was a loyal friend who would do anything for his teammates and somebody you could always count on.”
Multiple things struck me about my last interaction with Lemieux in December. His glare was still there, steely and intentional. His eyes gave him away as a ruthless competitor.
While his career was chronicled by excellence and mischief, this night revealed the side that made him so endearing.
He did not want to talk about himself, though his resume made him a worthy topic. He wanted to make a point to explain why the championship with the Avs was so unique. He had just won the Conn Smythe, leading the Devils to the title with his 13 goals, when he arrived in Colorado.
The Avs wanted what he had. Just as important, he wanted it more for them.
“To be part of anything where it is the first, I was blessed. Winning in Montreal was special, but that was their 23rd Cup. Going to New Jersey, not much of a hockey franchise and winning it, and then doing it again five years later was special. But coming here was really, really special. It was the first championship for the state of Colorado,” Lemieux said. “There are so many great memories. For me, winning on the road and coming back with the team. Reliving all of that and watching guys win for the first time, it was really something I will never forget.”
Lemieux paused a few times during his answer, catching himself. This was the man, not the caricature that Red Wings rivalry often framed him as. The love he felt from the fans, who posed for pictures and later roared with applause during the ceremony, clearly had an impact.
Lemieux deserved all of it.
But this interview, these final answers, this was Lemieux. Before he was an all-time great, he reveled in being trusted in the room, something that remained obvious as his eyes scanned the familiar faces.
“We don’t get together often,” Lemieux said. “Itap incredible how fast it has gone by.”
Too fast. And now Pepe is gone too soon.
