Hockey writer and historian Liam Maguire reflected poignantly on an in-person conversation he had with late NHL great Claude Lemieux just days before his death by suicide.
“I said, ‘Geez, you look great, I don’t even think you’re five pounds over playing weight,’” Maguire told the Daily Mail. “He laughed and just said he was running a business in Florida, doing some stuff, and living life. And I mean, it’s so ironic to say that now that he’s gone.”
The conversation between Maguire and Lemieux happened before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Montreal on May 25, where Lemieux acted as torch bearer for his former team.
Three days later, Lemieux’s body was found in the warehouse of a Florida furniture business owned by the family. The Palm Beach Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to Us Weekly that Lemieux died by suicide. He was 60.
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Veteran hockey writer Rejean Tremblay told the New York Post last week that Lemieux may have been “triggered” by attending the game in Montreal, arguing that Lemieux was “hurt tremendously” that he had not been elected into Hockey Hall of Fame.
It was a sentiment that Maguire shared.
“It’s ridiculous that he’s not [in],’ Maguire said. “It’s only because the Hall of Fame is a political entity. The first-ballot guys are rubber-stamped, the ones who anybody would say is a no-brainer. When you get to the next level down, then you have to check off boxes, and Claude doesn’t check them all off because he didn’t play nice.”
Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion, was also notorious for his gritty, hard-nosed brand of hockey.
NHL insider Pierre LeBrun also recently reflected on his final discussions with Lemieux, revealing that he was thinking about making a major career change.
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“Still struggling so much with Claude Lemieux’s death,” LeBrun shared via X on Sunday, May 31. “He was someone I talked [with] about the game and the business of the game. I loved our conversations because I learned so much. Over the past year he had mentioned to me his desire maybe to run a team one day. He would have been a great GM.”
LeBrun added, “He actually talked to me about throwing his hat in the Maple Leafs opening. He didn’t.”
The Maple Leafs announced the hiring of their new general manager, John Chayka, on May 4.
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