On Monday night, prior to Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Claude Lemieux was the honorary torchbearer in Montreal. Four days later, he tragically passed away, leaving friends, family, and the entire hockey world devastated.
One of the league's most productive enforcers, Lemieux knew how to turn the tide of the game by antagonizing the other team, as well as burying goals with an exceptional shot that ordinary enforcers weren't known for. Spending a total of six years with the New Jersey Devils and playing over 400 games for the organization, in light of his tragic passing, here are three of Claude Lemieux's most memorable moments from his time with the franchise.
3. Returning to the Devils in 2000 to capture their second Stanley Cup
After spending four and a half seasons with the Colorado Avalanche, during which he captured his third Stanley Cup, he was traded back to the Devils during the 1999-00 season. In an early-November trade, Lemieux played 70 games with the Devils, gathering 38 points in the regular season, with 17 goals and 21 assists.
In the playoffs, he played all 23 games, scoring 10 points, tied for the fifth most on the Devils roster. He also shot on net the most out of any Devil, totaling 78 shots on goal throughout the playoffs, generating offensive pressure. In addition to his offensive production, he excelled at antagonizing opposing teams with 75 hits, third most on the Devils behind only Bobby Holik and Scott Stevens. As this physical, offensive engine, Lemieux was the perfect piece the Devils needed to win their second Stanley Cup.
2. Game 5 winner vs. the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals
In 1995, his fifth season with the team before being traded, the Devils were facing the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the final minute of Game 5, with the series tied 2-2, it was almost certain the two teams would meet in overtime for the second time that series.
With 52.4 seconds left in the game, Flyers defenseman Dmitry Yushkevich launched a blast towards Martin Brodeur, which was promptly blocked away into the corner. Lemieux pounced on the rebound and carried it up ice through the neutral zone, crossing into the Flyers' end. Not even a foot past the blue line, Lemieux fired a slapshot and beat Philadelphia's goaltender Ron Hextall on his blocker side with 44.2 seconds left on the clock, putting the Devils up 3-2. The goal would end up being the dagger for the Devils, setting them up to close out the series at home against the Flyers, which they eventually would, en route to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance.
1. Winning the Conn Smythe in 1995
The 1995 Stanley Cup Playoffs truly cemented Lemieux as one of the best playoff performers in league history. Despite having the fourth-most points on the Devils' roster that postseason with 16, 13 of those were even-strength goals. He wasn't just a supporting role player for the team, but an influential star in the playoffs that was capped off with a sweep of the Detroit Red Wings. Lemieux transformed himself from a bruising enforcer who was just out there to hit into a crucial goalscorer who propelled the team to its first Stanley Cup championship.
An illustrious National Hockey League career spanning 1,215 games across six different franchises, Pepe was an icon in the NHL during the 90's and embodied what it meant to be a hockey player. He will be missed by hockey fans all across the world who are grateful to have witnessed not only the successful player her was, but the incredible human being he was both on and off the ice.
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