Claude Lemieux

Claude Percy Lemieux (born July 16, 1965), is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for six teams between 1983 and 2009.

He was drafted in the second round of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens and played with them from 1983–1990, winning his first Stanley Cup with the team in 1986.

Lemieux was drafted in the second round of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

He played with the Canadiens from 1983–1990, winning the Stanley Cup with the team in 1986.

He made his first international appearance as a member of the Canadian national junior team at the 1985 World Junior Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

In 1990, he was traded to the Devils, with whom he played five seasons and won a Stanley Cup.

In September 1990, Lemieux was traded to the New Jersey Devils for Sylvain Turgeon.

Lemieux won four Stanley Cup championships during his career, two with the New Jersey Devils, with whom he won the Conn Smythe Trophy during the team's victory in the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals.

He is one of only 11 players to win a Stanley Cup championship with at least three teams.

He is also known as one of the best playoff performers, as his 80 career playoff goals are the ninth most in NHL history.

Lemieux was born in Buckingham, Quebec, but grew up in Mont-Laurier, Quebec.

He was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in 1995 and won his second consecutive Stanley Cup during the 1996 finals.

During the playoffs that season, Lemieux hit Kris Draper of the Detroit Red Wings from behind, breaking Draper's orbital, cheek, and jaw bones, and sparking a vicious rivalry between the Avalanche and Red Wings.

Lemieux won his second Stanley Cup in 1995 as New Jersey defeated the Detroit Red Wings.

Completing the postseason with 13 goals, he also won the Conn Smythe Trophy that year as the playoff MVP.

Shortly before the beginning of the 1995–96 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 the tenth player to win back-to-back Stanley Cups with different teams.

In 1999, Lemieux was traded back to the Devils and won a second Stanley Cup with them in the 2000 finals – his fourth overall.

Over the next few seasons, he played for the Phoenix Coyotes and Dallas Stars.

In November 1999, Lemieux was traded back to New Jersey in a deal that sent Brian Rolston to Colorado.

He won his fourth and final Stanley Cup title with the Devils in 2000.

In that offseason, Lemieux signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Lemieux ended his NHL playing career with Dallas at the conclusion of the 2002–03 season.

He played briefly the following season for EV Zug of the Swiss Nationalliga A.

Lemieux left the NHL in 2003 and briefly joined EV Zug of the Swiss Nationalliga A before retiring as a player.

In January 2003, the Coyotes traded him to the Dallas Stars for Scott Pellerin and a conditional draft pick.

In 2005, he was named president of the ECHL's Phoenix RoadRunners, a position he held for two years.

In 2005, Lemieux became president of the ECHL incarnation of the Phoenix RoadRunners until resigning in 2007.

In 2007, Lemieux took part in the second season of the Spike TV television show Pros vs. Joes.

Lemieux returned to the NHL with the San Jose Sharks for the 2008–2009 season, but retired again after that year.

His son Brendan Lemieux is also an NHL player, a forward for the Carolina Hurricanes.

In September 2008, on RDS, Lemieux expressed an interest in making a comeback to the NHL.

He began the season with the China Sharks of the Asia League Ice Hockey before signing a contract with the Worcester Sharks on November 25.

After scoring two goals and six points in 14 games with Worcester, Lemieux signed a two-way contract with the San Jose Sharks on December 29, 2008.

The following day, he cleared waivers and continued to play for Worcester.

In October 2009, Lemieux began competing as a pairs figure skater on the CBC Television reality show Battle of the Blades with Shae-Lynn Bourne.

For one of their routines, the pair skated to Lemieux's recorded version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, which he sang as a duet with Kathryn Rose.

On January 19, 2009, the San Jose Sharks recalled Lemieux to the NHL; on February 19, he recorded the first (and only) NHL point of his comeback, assisting on Milan Michalek's second-period goal against the Los Angeles Kings.

That same year, the Sharks won the Presidents' Trophy.

Lemieux represented Canada three times in international competitions over the course of his career.