Claude Lemieux dies at 60

[PerreaultForever]

10 hours ago, JP51 said:

Exactly he was... I hope it was not a CTE thing for his families sake.

I was fearful of that.

I was thinking this too. I bet the media will jump all over that possibility. 

[JP51]

9 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I was thinking this too. I bet the media will jump all over that possibility. 

I wouldnt be surprised... he would not be the first professional athlete with CTE to take their own life...  now we have no clue... I am sure this will be vetted in the media for sure.  A lot of times the family is close to the vest on the cause of death... the fact that his is out there may mean there is a message they want to send to others as a result of this...  but to your point I think this will play out down the road. Right now its just shocking and devastating to them and us I suppose... so simply mourning the loss is totally appropriate... but I feel like there might be more to this story down the road. 

[transient]

34 minutes ago, JP51 said:

I wouldnt be surprised... he would not be the first professional athlete with CTE to take their own life...  now we have no clue... I am sure this will be vetted in the media for sure.  A lot of times the family is close to the vest on the cause of death... the fact that his is out there may mean there is a message they want to send to others as a result of this...  but to your point I think this will play out down the road. Right now its just shocking and devastating to them and us I suppose... so simply mourning the loss is totally appropriate... but I feel like there might be more to this story down the road. 

Cause and effect with CTE remains a murky topic. As an example, they posthumously diagnosed Rick Martin with CTE based on findings at autopsy after he died of a massive heart attack and had no neurologic symptoms during his lifetime. Athletes have a short lived life of celebrity, and then everything changes. It's notable that this happened so soon after he was once again being celebrated.

[JP51]

10 minutes ago, transient said:

Cause and effect with CTE remains a murky topic. As an example, they posthumously diagnosed Rick Martin with CTE based on findings at autopsy after he died of a massive heart attack and had no neurologic symptoms during his lifetime. Athletes have a short lived life of celebrity, and then everything changes. It's notable that this happened so soon after he was once again being celebrated.

agreed CTE also manifests itself in a lot of ways... I remember when Rico crashed his car in Clarence...   its a big price some of these folks pay for sure. 

[Apollo]

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-bruins/2026/05/28/lyndon-byers-boston-bruins-death-cte-brain-injury-nhl-hockey/?gaa_at=g&gaa_n=AVngi4ju9pNc-ZSsQ3YctmICSyI

[PerreaultForever]

3 hours ago, JP51 said:

I wouldnt be surprised... he would not be the first professional athlete with CTE to take their own life...  now we have no clue... I am sure this will be vetted in the media for sure.  A lot of times the family is close to the vest on the cause of death... the fact that his is out there may mean there is a message they want to send to others as a result of this...  but to your point I think this will play out down the road. Right now its just shocking and devastating to them and us I suppose... so simply mourning the loss is totally appropriate... but I feel like there might be more to this story down the road. 

I was just going to post the Lyndon Byers thing in response but @Apollo beat me too it above. I doubt the Lemieux family will have his brain examined so we will likely never know. Sometimes it's just a real mental illness thing not connected to injury. The loss of fame and attention, being away from the game, does cause4 a loss of meaning for some athletes. It's possible when he carried the torch and saw everything up close it drove home his emptiness or whatever you want to call it. It does happen to some and if they don't get help in time things can go bad. 

[JohnC]

13 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I was thinking this too. I bet the media will jump all over that possibility. 

Why wouldn't many media people consider CTA as a factor? In this case, I don't know if it was a factor or not, so I'm not going to speculate. Speaking for myself, I'm adamantly opposed to fighting. Other than in the fighting sports, it is not allowed in other sports

I knew someone who worked in our training division and was involved in repeatedly being hit in the head. He went from being a physical specimen and an engaging personality to being a shell of himself. He ended up being retired on a disability. It ruined his and his family's life. Before he retired, he told me that the accumulation of hits to his head took a toll on him. There are enough risks in this very physical. Allowing fighting, most of which are pre-staged, makes no sense to me. 

Whenever I express my hardened view on this topic of fighting I usually get booed out of the room. 

[PerreaultForever]

2 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Why wouldn't many media people consider CTA as a factor? In this case, I don't know if it was a factor or not, so I'm not going to speculate. Speaking for myself, I'm adamantly opposed to fighting. Other than in the fighting sports, it is not allowed in other sports

I knew someone who worked in our training division and was involved in repeatedly being hit in the head. He went from being a physical specimen and an engaging personality to being a shell of himself. He ended up being retired on a disability. It ruined his and his family's life. Before he retired, he told me that the accumulation of hits to his head took a toll on him. There are enough risks in this very physical. Allowing fighting, most of which are pre-staged, makes no sense to me. 

Whenever I express my hardened view on this topic of fighting I usually get booed out of the room. 

I just don't want to see the media jump all over this and make it into another anti-fighting story. Media has a habit of jumping at tidbits and embellishing them. It's an exploitation for an agenda. 

[GoPuckYourself]

Oh man reports say his son found him, tragic to hear all around. Rest in paradise.

[stinky finger]

Quintessential winner and as clutch as they came. Loved this guy.

RIP 

 

[The Jokeman]

On 5/28/2026 at 5:41 PM, Night Train said:

RIP but I couldn't stand him. 

I didn't mind him as a player but the way he strong armed his kid off the Sabres put a bitter taste in my mouth.

[bunomatic]

1 hour ago, The Jokeman said:

I didn't mind him as a player but the way he strong armed his kid off the Sabres put a bitter taste in my mouth.

We didn’t miss his kid. Claude trying to control his sons journey is all that was. Lotsa parents do it.

[RETURNTOGLORY]

A video from Claudes Brother explaining a few things ❤️

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/19994dko51/

[The Jokeman]

10 hours ago, bunomatic said:

We didn’t miss his kid. Claude trying to control his sons journey is all that was. Lotsa parents do it.

It's the point he felt the need to, am sorry but never liked when athletes parents do such a thing.

[Pimlach]

12 hours ago, bunomatic said:

We didn’t miss his kid. Claude trying to control his sons journey is all that was. Lotsa parents do it.

No but it was another painful message on how many people felt about how the Sabres were run.  

To make matter worse that draft year had lots of good players taken after the first round.  Little Lemieux was at best a part time 4th liner.

 

Edited May 30 by Pimlach

[inkman]

15 hours ago, The Jokeman said:

I didn't mind him as a player but the way he strong armed his kid off the Sabres put a bitter taste in my mouth.

 

14 hours ago, bunomatic said:

We didn’t miss his kid. Claude trying to control his sons journey is all that was. Lotsa parents do it.

 

3 hours ago, The Jokeman said:

It's the point he felt the need to, am sorry but never liked when athletes parents do such a thing.

 

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

No but it was another painful message on how many people felt about how the Sabres were run.  

To make matter worse that draft year had lots of good players taken after the first round.  Little Lemieux was at best a part time 4th liner.

 

I had nearly forgotten all about this. Pretty annoying how it went down. Especially when Brendon wasn’t a very good NHL player.  I understand wanting to stay away from a tire fire like like 2015 Sabres but his best opportunity for a larger role on any team would have been the talent bereft Sabres. He could have played in top 6. Alas everything happens for a reason. 
 

Claude was just a larger less talented version of Marchand. Some how MORE unlikable. 

[JohnC]

On 5/29/2026 at 3:09 PM, PerreaultForever said:

I just don't want to see the media jump all over this and make it into another anti-fighting story. Media has a habit of jumping at tidbits and embellishing them. It's an exploitation for an agenda. 

It appears that his family members are acknowledging that he was exhibiting troubling behavior for an extended period of time that would lead to serious considerations that were related to his hockey career. The fact that they are allowing his brain to be examined for CTE issues is an indication that it was a serious concern. 

[JP51]

On 5/29/2026 at 3:04 PM, PerreaultForever said:

I was just going to post the Lyndon Byers thing in response but @Apollo beat me too it above. I doubt the Lemieux family will have his brain examined so we will likely never know. Sometimes it's just a real mental illness thing not connected to injury. The loss of fame and attention, being away from the game, does cause4 a loss of meaning for some athletes. It's possible when he carried the torch and saw everything up close it drove home his emptiness or whatever you want to call it. It does happen to some and if they don't get help in time things can go bad. 

I read an article that they were going to donate his brain for CTE study... but who knows... 

[K-9]

On 5/29/2026 at 11:09 PM, bunomatic said:

We didn’t miss his kid. Claude trying to control his sons journey is all that was. Lotsa parents do it.

Archie Manning says, “hold my beer.”

[PerreaultForever]

10 hours ago, JP51 said:

I read an article that they were going to donate his brain for CTE study... but who knows... 

I have heard that announced later than the original posts here. It seems like a good idea. 

While his brain might show concussion issues idk if that concludes a causal link though. I mean his son came into the league and was a total a-hole worse than he was (and for all the accolades Lemieux was one of the dirtiest players in the league, just ask Draper). That wouldn't be concussion related, more like bad parenting or maybe bad DNA. Who knows? I think all we can say is people can have issues and depression can be real and people at all levels of society can at times need help. Hockey players today are very rich and can afford top level help but they don't always seek it. 

[JP51]

15 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I have heard that announced later than the original posts here. It seems like a good idea. 

While his brain might show concussion issues idk if that concludes a causal link though. I mean his son came into the league and was a total a-hole worse than he was (and for all the accolades Lemieux was one of the dirtiest players in the league, just ask Draper). That wouldn't be concussion related, more like bad parenting or maybe bad DNA. Who knows? I think all we can say is people can have issues and depression can be real and people at all levels of society can at times need help. Hockey players today are very rich and can afford top level help but they don't always seek it. 

I am not sure we will ever know...  every pro athlete suicide isnt CTE and all people with CTE do not harm themselves... too much is unknown... that said, I respect the family for trying to make a difference thru tragedy.  The whole thing is sad... with respect to Claude, I really did despise him as a player... but you look at alot of the players that hated him and they all seemed to come together after it was over...  I watched a video with Lemieux holding McCarty's 50th birthday cake and signing Happy Birthday... so maybe it was just on ice he was an ass...  who knows... maybe they were both jerks and loved each other for it LOL... either way the whole thing is sad.

Edited June 2 by JP51

[Cascade Youth]

On 6/1/2026 at 11:38 AM, K-9 said:

Archie Manning says, “hold my beer.”

Fake news?

[K-9]

52 minutes ago, Cascade Youth said:

Fake news?

I stand corrected and glad to do so. Thanks for the edification.