Martin St. Louis finds himself in a difficult situation. 

The Montreal Canadiens are down 3-1 in their Eastern Conference Final Series against the Carolina Hurricanes, on the brink of elimination. 

While St. Louis has never been in this position as a head coach, he’s overcome a 3-1 deficit three times over the course of his 16-year NHL career as a player. 

Two of those miraculous comebacks came with the New York Rangers in 2014 and 2015. 

In 2014, down 3-1 in the second round to the Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis decided to join his team for Game 5 just three days after the sudden passing of his mother. 

The Rangers were able to climb their way back in the series, winning three consecutive games. 

That second-round comeback was headlined by St. Louis’s emotional Game 6 goal, which happened to fall on Mother’s Day. 

The Blueshirts would go on to reach the Stanley Cup Final, but ultimately lost at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings. 

One year later, in 2015, the Rangers found themselves in an identical position, down 3-1 in their second-round series against the Washington Capitals. 

Winning two out of the next three games in overtime, the Rangers overcame a 3-1 series deficit to reach the Eastern Conference Final. 

Now, St. Louis is using his past experiences with the Rangers to inspire his young Canadiens team, conveying the message that no matter how difficult it will be to come back from their 3-1 series hole, it’s possible.

“He’s done it twice,” Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobeš said of St. Louis’s past experiences coming back from a 3-1 series deficit. “If Marty can do it, we can do it.”

From his days as a player to now as a coach, St. Louis is keeping the same mindset in this situation. 

“It’s just not worrying about the hole. It’s just winning a game, one game. You can’t look at the mountain, you just gotta look at what’s in front of you and stay present,” St. Louis said.

On Thursday afternoon, the NHL Alumni Association announced the passing of former NHL all-star and noted tough guy, Claude Lemieux.

A four-time Stanley Cup champion and Conn Smythe winner, Lemieux's death was sudden, with reports indicating local law enforcement were responding to an attempted suicide at a business owned by Lemieux and family.

Just two nights prior, Lemieux had carried in the torch for the Montreal Canadiens in advance of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

He was just 60 years old.

A Quebec product, Lemieux went on to win the Stanley Cup with his hometown Canadiens, as well as with the Colorado Avalanche and twice with the New Jersey Devils.

"He was loved by his wife and four children, and on behalf of the Lemieux family, we kindly ask that everyone respect their privacy during this difficult time. Memorial service details to follow," the NHL Alumni Association wrote on Thursday.

Lemieux put up 1,777 penalty minutes in his 21-season career, while also managing 379 goals and 786 points in his 1,215 total games played. He also operated at a strong .68 point-per-game rate in the postseason. 

Lemieux's son, Brendan, spent four years with the Winnipeg Jets organization - suiting up for both the Manitoba Moose and the Jets. He later moved on to the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings, before ultimately travelling to Switzerland, where he spent the past two seasons playing for HC Davos. 

Claude Lemieux’s death came just days after he was back in the NHL spotlight.

The four-time Stanley Cup winner died at 60 years old, the league’s Alumni Association announced Thursday, after Lemieux was just at his former home arena — the Bell Centre in Montreal — on Monday night.

Lemieux carried out the ceremonial torch for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Canadiens and the Hurricanes.

He carried the torch through a tunnel of excited fans, who were cheering and filming him on his walk. Upon reaching the inside of the arena, he raised the torch and pumped his fist as fans roared for their former winger of seven years.

The death was ruled a suicide, as reported by TMZ after Lemieux was found at a family business Thursday morning in Florida.

Lemieux, a Quebec native, was drafted by the Canadiens in 1983 and spent the first seven seasons of his career in Montreal.

He won his first Cup with the Canadiens in 1986 before adding three more with the Devils (twice) and Avalanche.

“Today is a dark day for the Canadiens family and the entire hockey community. I wish to express my most sincere and deepest condolences to Claude’s family and loved ones,” Canadiens owner Geoff Molson said in a statement. “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.”

Lemieux also spent time with the Coyotes, Stars and Sharks.

He retired in 2009 for a second time following a comeback season with San Jose at 43 years old.

Montreal went on to lose 3-2 during an overtime period. They also lost Wednesday’s Game 4, 4-0.

With their backs against the wall, the Canadiens head to Carolina for Game 5 and if they force a Game 6, they will be back at Bell Centre for what would undoubtedly be an emotional scene.

The last time the Canadiens were in the Stanley Cup Final was in 2021, when they lost to the Lightning in five games. They last won the Cup in ’93.

Defenseman Morgan Rielly and left winger Matthew Knies have been linked to trade rumors for quite some time now.

The Toronto Maple Leafs duo were recently included in an off-season trade board by The Athletic's Chris Johnston. In this trade board, Rielly was listed at No. 5, while Knies was slotted in at No. 12.

It's true, Rielly has a no-move clause on his contract, and Knies is one of the young stars who should help propel the Maple Leafs back into contention after a fallen season this past campaign. However, there are reasons as to why these two have been consistently linked to trade rumors.

Rielly, 32, is the longest-tenured member of the current Maple Leafs roster. He's gearing up for his 14th NHL season and is 49 appearances away from reaching the 1,000-game plateau.

Rielly would be the sixth player in Maple Leafs history to play 1,000 games for the franchise, and would surpass Mats Sundin on the list of games played in his next 30 regular-season games with Toronto.

However, despite the aforementioned no-move clause on his eight-year, $7.5-million-per-year contract, there is a real possibility that the veteran defenseman doesn't make it to the 2026-27 season with Toronto.

The Pros And Cons Of Maple Leafs Trading Either Joseph Woll Or Anthony StolarzThe Toronto Maple Leafs could have a surplus in the crease next season. If GM John Chayka considered it, what are the pros and cons of trading away either Joseph Woll or Anthony Stolarz?

"(Rielly) has previously been unwilling to consider waiving his no-movement clause but has since softened on that stance," Johnston wrote. "He still controls the process because of that mechanism in his contract, but a fresh start is looking increasingly likely."

Though Rielly and the Maple Leafs have been attached for the duration of his NHL career, there is an understanding that it could be beneficial for both sides to start fresh.

He hasn't performed up to expectations in the past two seasons. Rielly is coming off a 36-point campaign after playing 78 games for the Leafs, which is his lowest point total since the 2020-21 season, when he played just 55 games.

He also notched the second-worst plus-minus rating of his entire career (minus-18), and that includes the Maple Leafs' ugly years between 2013-14 and 2015-16.

Maple Leafs Reportedly Listening To Calls On No. 1 Pick, But Likelyhood Of Moving It Is SlimWhile new Maple Leafs GM John Chayka is taking calls on the No. 1 draft pick, moving it would require an overwhelming offer.

As for Knies, he's been a real bright spot for the Maple Leafs as a young player who's been able to have an impact in the NHL. The 23-year-old is coming off another solid season, scoring 23 goals, as well as a career-high of 43 assists and 66 points.

In addition to his play on the ice, Knies is on a fair contract, earning $7.75 million through the 2030-31 campaign.

So why would Toronto consider moving off a young star like Knies, who can be a part of the solution in getting the Leafs back in the Stanley Cup playoffs?

It started at the NHL trade deadline back in March, when the rumblings of Knies potentially being moved came through. 

"(The Maple Leafs) felt he could bring back a bonanza of assets to reboot a program short on prospects and draft picks," Johnston said.

There's a real argument that Knies is the most valuable asset in the Maple Leafs' organization in terms of what Toronto can receive in a trade. In fact, it wasn't long ago that Johnston also reported that someone who works for an NHL team said they'd be willing to give up more assets for Knies than Auston Matthews.

What The Maple Leafs Reportedly Wanted For Matthew Knies At Trade DeadlineKypreos reports that the Maple Leafs were looking for three different packages when it came to Knies.

In a system that doesn't have several outstanding prospects and assets to dispense, Toronto's front office might have to consider sacrificing its young star to stock the cupboards further.

Though the trade deadline incident was under Brad Treliving, current GM John Chayka has alerted the rest of the league that he's willing to have conversations about any player on the roster, except for Matthews.

Not to mention, on a team that has plenty of players with trade protection and clauses, Knies' contract doesn't include any of that language until 2030-31, when he has a 10-team no-trade list, according to puckpedia.com.

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Now that the Stanley Cup Final round is just around the calendar – likely Vegas vs. Canes – it's fun to wonder how your Beloved Blueshirts would have fared had they made the postseason.

Eastern Conference teams that beat out New York for a playoff berth include Montreal, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Boston, Philly and Ottawa.

Of the group The Maven considers Buffalo and Montreal the best of the bunch. I expected Buffalo to be better but the Habs have turned out to be the surprise team of the lower end.

It's easy to say that the Rangers should have made the playoffs instead of Pittsburgh but in the end, the Penguins had the leadership of Sidney Crosby and a brilliant new coach. 

You can "If" all you want but, in the end had Sully's team made it to the first playoff round, the Rangers would have been in and out of the playoffs faster than the Avs went in and then out of the third round!

We are now a few days removed from the Colorado Avalanche being eliminated via sweep from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After reading through a catalog of blame game articles and social posts, I’ve decided to make an entry of a different sort.

I’m not here to blame any one individual for what happened during Colorado’s cataclysmic meltdown that saw a team that was 8-1 through two rounds of playoff hockey waste eight days and leave the bracket with an 8-5 record.

I’m more curious about how it happened and why.

The Avalanche and their fans got handshakes and heartbreak rather than the glitz and glory of another cup run, but what led to this collapse?

Cognitive Dissonance

If you ask me, it boils down to saying what you do, and doing what you say, and how the Avalanche as a whole has failed to live up to their systems-first messaging.

We are beaten over the head with “next man up” and “Buy into the system and the system will take care of itself”, but have seen management leverage young talent for “the perfect fit,” the coaching staff lean on and deploy top groups more than ever and when not even fully healthy, all while some top players refuse to embody the message in the most crucial moments.

Now consider that the bottom of the Avalanche forward group, which embodied the system and approach, was clearly the most effective group, yet still sat and watched an uncomfortable, hobbled Nate MacKinnon and Cale Makar attempt to wince their way to a comeback in the closing seconds of games three and four.

I’ll be super clear on one thing. I’m not suggesting you bench either Nathan MacKinnon or Cale Makar, but rather that you reward the guys who are buying in and give yourself the best shot of winning by doing so.

Problems Perculate on the Power Play

You know where I see contradiction most obviously? How Colorado approaches the power play.

Anyone who has followed the Avalanche season from start to finish knows that the power play was a hot-button topic all season after the Avalanche and their failure to execute on the man advantage last postseason dominated offseason narratives.

The power play struggled again throughout the regular season and into the postseason.

Adjustments were made to try to enable the highly talented top group, but in general, the Avalanche’s power play, with world-class talent, was nowhere near as effective as it should have been.

None of those adjustments panned out, yet it was still the first unit that consistently held the majority of the advantage. The second power play group that has a few players you just had to trade for hardly ever saw a look at more than 30 seconds of a power play. Most of the time, it takes 5-10 seconds just to enter and cycle. So basically, the second group constantly got one crack at making a difference, even when the top group clearly wasn’t.

Working Up the Leaderboard

Now that I’ve laid it out, I want to talk a bit about the power dynamic in Colorado, as I see leadership from players all the way up to management having a hand in the separation between philosophy and practice.

Let’s start with Captain Gabe Landeskog, who definitely bought into the system and was among Colorado’s most effective postseason players for two consecutive seasons now. Gabe no doubt has a unique perspective given his storied return to hockey, and was obviously in various shades of disappointment/frustration throughout the Vegas series.

When Jared Bednar was first brought on, here’s what Landeskog had to say about Bednar’s approach: “He wants to play fast. He wants to play quick and play in the O-zone and get on the forecheck. With our speed up front, I think it will benefit us. Spending less time in the D-zone will be something we’ll all be looking to do. The systems are going to work to our advantage.”

Based on Landeskog’s performance, he clearly appreciates Bednar’s strategy, and on paper, all of what he saw does fit this Avalanche squad. But what happens when your top guys try to red-cape it when the going gets tough?

Gabe is doing plenty, as far as I’m concerned, by leading by example and by saying what needs to be said. With that, I turn to the head coach and how he could empower Landeskog and get the top guys to hold the big picture dear, no matter how competitive and capable they are, or how much adversity they face.

Playoff hockey is like playing a game of stygian chicken, and Vegas never, not once, thought about changing course. They were going to go for a head-on collision or force the Avs to veer out of desperation.

The Avalanche did veer off course, playing like an insecure club without any answers for what was being thrown at them.

Vegas clogged the middle of the ice, stayed home, capitalized on Colorado’s mistakes, and said, “We can do this all night.”

Colorado responded by being perfectly content with the fool’s gold of perimeter looks, time and time again.

The message was “we gotta keep playing our game,” but in my opinion, they stopped playing Avalanche hockey in game two of the Western Conference Final.

Does the undeniable shelf life of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar as Avalanche mainstays require that Jared Bednar cater to them to a fault for survival? Would he be let go quickly if he stood his ground or made more public statements about the specifics of his displeasure?

Did we see a passive-aggressive version of that with the “It’s up to Cale” phiasco? It’s impossible to say for sure, as vagueness is among the most-used tools in Bednar’s press bag.

If Bednar isn’t comfortable sticking to his guns to foster a pleased elite core, that presents a real problem.

The Great Divide

You don’t need to be a part of an NHL hockey team to know what a lack of accountability or consistency can do to a team. In business, if one employee sees another employee afforded benefits despite poor performance, it can be demoralizing. Moreover, if the message is “do your job,” but some are enabled not to do so, the whole group begins to lose respect for the process and leadership.

No one goes above and beyond for a boss who seems to do things that contradict his message.

The lack of accountability may lead to some division in the room, though I have no insight into that. On the surface, everything seems peachy (outside of disappointment), but that’s rarely the case when a team implodes like this.

I could apply this thinking to Jared Bednar as it pertains to his stars, but I really don’t think he, at his core, believes in catering to superstars over the team. If his actions contradict that, I have to look further up the leadership ladder to find a reason why, and I think I have one.

Starts at the Top

We can’t say GM Chris MacFarland caters to superstars if he traded one, right?

Well, from my vantage, MacFarland has officially leveraged every shred of futures for the Avalanche in hopes of getting at least one more cup from the current core, and it’s all been for naught.

After dealing more picks for specific roles, the Avalanche are both without hardware or a clear path into the future.

If your coach says it doesn’t matter who plays and that it’s about the system, wouldn’t it be better to develop more young guns and play the long game?

We have examples of exactly that already working in Colorado.

Logan O’Connor, Sam Malinski, and others have survived being traded long enough to develop into effective NHL players, with LOC being a huge part of the team’s identity. Or at least that’s what we are told.

This whole article is riddled with hindsight and recency biases, but let’s take a look at some of the deals I view as challenging the idea that anyone can fill the roles in this system.

MacFarland leveraged Alex Newhook for Mikael Gulyayev, Ross Colton, and Gianni Fairbrother back in 2023, as Newhook was asked to fill in at 2C along with J.T. Compher when Kadri couldn’t be retained after a cup win.

Because he was unable to do so immediately and the pressure of a win-now window, Colorado elected to swap Newhook’s budding talent for a bona fide Stanley Cup Champion talent in Ross Colton. Rosco was good, but he was also scratched to start the playoffs, and Newhook has 10 points and has been Montreal’s clutchest player of the postseason in the here and now.

That youthful scoring touch and gamer mentality would have been nice this year, and, to be fair, Newhook showed he had it in 2022; otherwise, we wouldn’t have thought he could be a 2C for a competitor for three months.

Management also infamously swapped Bowen Byram in a one-for-one for Casey Mittlestadt, who lands pretty high on the list of biggest trade flops ever.

He now plays for the Bruins, as he was traded for Charlie Coyle ahead of last year’s playoff disappointment.

Charlie Coyle was subsequently traded with a throw-in of Miles Wood for Gavin Brindley (nice) and a couple of picks.

So, inevitably, Bowen Byram is traded for a young player with potential, but one that’s likely 2 to 3 years away (at the time of the trade) from being an NHL mainstay.

What was Bo up to this year?

Oh, just playing a pivotal role in getting the Buffalo Sabres back to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, and posting seven points in 13 playoff games including a franchise-tying record four goals from a defenseman.

I reiterate that I know I have the benefit of hindsight here. Still, the justification for leveraging Colorado’s fleeting surplus of back-end talent and young, not-quite-there forwards is that winning now matters. The Avalanche haven’t won anything beyond the regular season during this window. That’s a fact.

The Way Forward

This article sucks. It’s just me saying the easiest thing you can easily say about a team that didn’t live up to the hype, but it’s the hype I blame.

My colleague Ezra Parter at the Mile High Hockey Lab coined our catchphrase: “Hockey is random and difficult,” and I think it’s a bit of wisdom that the Avalanche should take into the thought process from top to bottom.

We officially know you can build a stacked roster, but you have enough small vulnerabilities that allow a team to dismantle the NHL’s scoringest regular-season team. Bednar himself said it takes some luck, but what it really takes is resolve and patience. Luck makes its appearance inside that mindset more often than not, but remember, luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

I see a way forward for this Avalanche team, but it’s going to hurt. Believe it or not, this loss may be just what the now-mature core needs to recommit to the process.

The Avalanche organization can’t buy the hype and has to get back to its philosophical foundations. They aren’t a team looking to change the culture and become competitive, as they were back in 2022. Now they are a high-flying, heavily decorated group of individuals set on living up to expectations.

I say get back to the mindset of never being bigger than the game, or the process, or your team. You win as a team, and you lose as a team. When you leave the team behind, losing happens much more often and quickly.

Much has been written and said in recent days about the Montreal Canadiens needing to shoot more in their Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes. After Game 3, coach Martin St-Louis admitted that his team needed to generate a higher volume of shots after spending the season brushing aside concerns over the lack of shots. While we weren’t in the video room with the team on Tuesday, there’s no doubt that St-Louis told his men that they needed to shoot more. Then, on Wednesday night, 21,000 people told them as well when they replaced the traditional “Go Habs Go” chant with an annoyed: “Shoot the puck!”

The problem, however, is that something else needs to be fixed before the Canadiens can take more shots: they need to get out of their own zone. When the puck dropped on Game 4, play immediately went in the Canadiens’ zone, and the Hurricanes started to control play. When the Habs got the puck back, be it on a rebound or by intercepting a pass, they were unable to do anything with it, aside from turning it over most of the time.

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How many attempted lob clearances have we seen in this series? Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Jake Evans have all attempted that kind of play and failed to execute it. Even worse, there are times when the Habs don’t even get the opportunity to miss that play because by the time they’ve decided what they want to do with the puck, they’ve had their pocket picked.

If you can’t exit the zone, it will be hard to get more shots on net. We’ve often heard that when a player has reached his ceiling, the game slows down for him and he can make the right reads and decisions in seconds. At times this season, it genuinely looked like the game had slowed down for the Canadiens’ top line, but not in these playoffs. If anything, it looks like the Hurricanes are playing at ludicrous speed, yes, the same speed spaceships can reach in Spaceballs.

What’s the solution? There may not be one right now. The Canadiens are in the fourth year of their rebuild, and they’ve yet to reach the Hurricanes’ level of experience and dedication to their system. Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton’s job is not done yet, far from it. Martin St-Louis is doing what he can with the roster he has, but he cannot get on the ice himself. It’s up to the players to execute, and the fact is that there are still key pieces missing in the puzzle. As for the pieces that are already there, they appear to be running on empty. 

Last season in the playoffs, the Canadiens learned from the Washington Capitals that the postseason is physically demanding, and you need to be ready to be hit. This time around, the Canadiens are watching an execution clinic. Carolina is just so good at executing their game plan that the Canadiens are watching the train go by. If the series is to end in five games on Friday night, though, the Habs will still be able to hold their heads high; they’ve learned a lot this postseason. They’ve learned to play with incredibly high stakes, and they've closed two series in Game 7, which is priceless. Down the line, all that experience will come in handy, even if the players are hurting right now.

Shake and Blake then add some Stank 😤 pic.twitter.com/3m5Fos7U9B

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) May 28, 2026

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The NHL released two potential Stanley Cup Final schedules on Thursday May 28, depending on whether the Carolina Hurricanes wrap up the Eastern Conference finals in Game 5.

If the Hurricanes beat the Montreal Canadiens on Friday, May 29, the Stanley Cup Final will start on June 2 and run through June 17 if it goes the distance. If the Canadiens win and extend the conference finals to six or seven games, the Final will start on June 4 and potentially run through June 20.

The Vegas Golden Knights clinched a spot in the final by sweeping the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference finals.

They finished with fewer points than the Hurricanes and Canadiens, so they'll start the series on the road and host Games 3, 4 and a possible Game 6. The Eastern winner will host Games 1, 2 and Games 5 and 7, if needed.

Four-time Stanley Cup winner Claude Lemieux, who was playoff MVP in 1995 and was involved in a controversial hit in 1996, died Thursday at age 60, the Montreal Canadiens announced.

Lemieux won his first Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1986.

“Today is a dark day for the Canadiens family and the entire hockey community. I wish to express my most sincere and deepest condolences to Claude’s family and loved ones,” said Geoff Molson, owner and CEO of Groupe CH. “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."

Lemieux had carried the torch into Montreal's Bell Centre before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final.

Claude Lemieux carried the torch for Montreal on Monday before Game 3…

Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/wpmkE47lyi

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 28, 2026

Lemieux won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1995 as the New Jersey Devils swept the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final. He had a league-best 13 goals that postseason.

Lemieux joined the Colorado Avalanche the following season and won his third Stanley Cup. During the postseason run, he hit Kris Draper from behind into the boards, disfiguring the Red Wings player's face. Lemieux received a two-game suspension.

The Red Wings and Avalanche got into a brawl the following season as they tried to get back at Lemieux.

Lemieux moved back to the Devils for one season in 1999-2000, winning his fourth Stanley Cup.

He finished his career with the Phoenix Coyotes and Dallas Stars and then played 18 games with the San Jose Sharks in the 2008-09 season.

USA TODAY Sports contacted the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office but has been notified that the information it has for Claude Lemieux is "exempt from public records." We will update this story as more information is released.

In this episode of Sens Nation, we discuss Pierre LeBrun’s report that Claude Giroux has decided to return for another season. Surely, it's only a matter of time before he and the Ottawa Senators get a deal done, right?

We also debate whether pending unrestricted free agent Viktor Arvidsson could be a good fit in Ottawa, and whether moving Dylan Cozens to the wing would make sense for the Senators this fall. Cozens sure looks good in that spot at the World Hockey Championships.

Plus:

Montreal Canadiens fans in Gatineau, along with the Quebec government, push back after the NHL (and probably the Senators) shut down a planned Habs fan viewing party at the Slush Puppie Centre on Saturday. After losing that game, it wouldn't have been much of a party anyway.

The Senators, who just got a new alternate jersey this season will be getting yet another one next season.

What is the PWHL trying to accomplish with player salary disclosure?

Former Senators Jason York is heading into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame

Subscribe to the show for Ottawa Senators news, NHL analysis, trade rumours, game breakdowns, and weekly Sens Nation episodes.

Claude Lemieux’s death at the age of 60 was revealed to be by suicide, according to TMZ.

He was found in the warehouse of a furniture store owned by his family in Florida at around 3 am after they’d become concerned he had not come home, per the outlet.

The NHL Alumni Association announced the four-time Stanley Cup-winning forward’s death on Thursday.

It came just days after he carried the torch in Montreal’s Bell Centre before the Canadiens took on the Hurricanes in Game 3 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference finals on Monday.

Lemieux won the first of his four Cups with the Habs in 1986, adding two more as a member of the Devils (1995, 2000) and a one with the Avalanche (1996).

“A clutch player on the ice and greatly appreciated by Devils’ fans off it, Claude’s impact in bringing the first-ever Stanley Cup to New Jersey will forever be remembered as one of the paramount performances in team history,” the Devils said in a statement. “Widely respected throughout the NHL, both as a trusted agent and a valued colleague, Claude leaves behind a lasting legacy within our game that he gave so much to.”

A famed agitator, Lemieux posted 379 goals and 786 points in 1,215 NHL games, but picked up his game most in the postseason, notching 80 goals and 158 points in 234 playoff matches.

“The National Hockey League mourns the passing of Claude Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion and one of the greatest big-game Players in hockey history,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.

“Lemieux forged his postseason reputation and won the Cup for the first time as a rookie in 1986, when he scored 10 goals in the Playoffs for the Montreal Canadiens. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoffs MVP in 1995, scoring 13 goals in 20 postseason games with the New Jersey Devils. He also was an integral part of Cup-winning teams in Colorado, in 1996, and back with New Jersey in 2000.”

After retiring from pro hockey in 2009, Lemieux went on to become a certified player agent, representing Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen and Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider.

“He’s like family,” Andersen told The North State Journal’s Cory Lavalette after Game 3.

Lemieux is surived by his wife, Deborah, and four children, including son Brendan, a former Rangers forward.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis, you can call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org for free and confidential crisis counseling.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — On locker room cleanout day last week, General Manager and President of Hockey Operations Bill Guerin did not exactly hide what the Minnesota Wild need.

“The preference would be to get a natural center,” Guerin said Monday during the team’s end-of-season media availability.

There is no doubt that is the focus in the offseason. But the Wild also have to decide what to do on defense.

Zach Bogosian and Jeff Petry both played down the stretch for the Wild in the playoffs and are both veteran right-shot defenders.

Petry, 38, played in nine regular-season games and three playoff games.

Bogosian, 35, played in 41 regular-season games and nine of the 12 playoff games for the Wild. He battled injuries all year, but there is no doubt about how respected he is in the locker room and by the Wild front office.

But, as the old saying goes, sometimes the best ability is durability.

Which makes Brent Burns an intriguing option.

Burns, 41, is a rugged right-shot defenseman who has been in the NHL since 2003 after the Wild drafted him with the 20th overall pick in the 2003 NHL Draft.

In his 22nd NHL season after signing a one-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche, Burns joined Phil Kessel (1,064 games) as the only players in NHL history to play 1,000 consecutive games.

The 6-foot-5 defenseman has 273 goals, 672 assists and 945 points in 1,579 career NHL games.

He sits 14th all-time in NHL history for games played, and if he were to play another 82 games next season, Burns would sit 8th in NHL history with 1,661.

Why not bring him back to Minnesota, where it all started?

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Other Wild News

‘It Feels Like Home’: Mats Zuccarello Hopes His Wild Career Isn’t OverAs the veteran winger enters a crucial offseason, he opens up about his undeniable chemistry with Kirill Kaprizov and a deep-rooted desire to finish his career in Minnesota.

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- Wild's Filip Gustavsson To Undergo Offseason Hip Surgery.

- 'I Love The City And The Fans': Quinn Hughes Already Feels At Home In Minnesota.

- Wild Rookie Goaltender Finishes Sixth In Calder Trophy Voting.

- Bill Guerin Named Finalist For Jim Gregory General Manager Of The Year Award.