Claude Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion whose hockey career was built on playing on the edge with ferocity and physicality, has died. He was 60.The NHL Alumni Association announced Lemieux’s death in a post on social media. A cause of death was not immediately available, nor was it clear where Lemieux was when he died.Lemieux on Monday night was the Montreal Canadiens’ torch bearer prior to Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final at Bell Centre.“Today is a dark day for the Canadiens family and the entire hockey community,” Canadiens owner Geoff Molson said. “A fierce competitor who rose to the occasion in big moments, Claude was a relentless, courageous, and tenacious player who led the team to the highest honors. He embodied the very essence of being a Montreal Canadiens player. Today we mourn the untimely passing of one of our champions. Our thoughts are with his family on this difficult day.”As a player, Lemieux was a mix of skill and abrasiveness, not afraid to cross the line in the name of competition.He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for his role in helping the New Jersey Devils win their first championship in 1995. A year later with the Colorado Avalanche, he was suspended for two games for a hit from behind on Detroit’s Kris Draper on the way to them hoisting the Stanley Cup for the first time in their first season since moving from his native Quebec.Darren McCarty, a truculent member of the Red Wings during the heyday of their rivalry with the Avalanche that was sparked by Lemieux’s hit on Draper, posted a broken heart emoji on social media with the alumni’s announcement and additional thoughts about his former a …
