Claude Lemieux was prideful and loved the game of hockey. He played some of the hardest hockey we’ve seen in the 1990s, and that’s saying something. Teammates absolutely loved him, even the ones who fought him in the locker room. Opponents knew that when Lemieux was on the schedule, they couldn’t take the night off. He was going to make them work for every inch.
Lemieux did so much to help his teams, especially in the playoffs and especially the New Jersey Devils. He brought a playoff pedigree that changed the reputation of the Devils.
He was one of the first players who became a staple of Lou Lamoriello hockey. The Devils traded for him twice, sending him to Colorado during a contract dispute in 1995, then re-acquiring him in 1999 when Brian Rolston wasn’t happy with his role in New Jersey. Rolston was a speedster, but the Devils wanted more grit and clutch scoring. Lamoriello knew he could count on Lemieux to bring that to a Cup contender that was failing in the playoffs.
Claude Lemieux's family announce his brain will be donated to science
On Thursday, we learned that Claude Lemieux passed away at the age of 60. The news shocked the NHL. Many old teammates could not believe what they had heard. We won’t get into the details of his death, but it’s all tragic.
On Saturday night, Brendan Lemieux, a former NHL player and Claude’s son, announced on Instagram that the family would donate the former Conn Smythe Trophy winner’s brain to Boston University’s CTE Center to research the impact of concussions and CTE on former players. He will join many others who are part of the “Brain Bank” to find a way to way through the pain and suffering that has come with concussions.
Some of the other athletes whose brain has been donated to Boston University include NFL Hall of Famers Ken Stabler and Junior Seau, NHL Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, and NHL player Derek Boogard, whose donated brain allowed researchers to tie hockey to CTE through their research.
Lemieux joins a long list of donation stories, but this one will undoubtedly gain national attention. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has denied as recently as 2023 that research exists tying CTE to the game of hockey.
Hopefully, Lemieux’s brain can help the medical world learn even more about how to make sports safer. We love hockey, but we have to acknowledge that these athletes are supposed to live 40-50 years once their career is over.C
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