Claude Lemieux

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Nope, they don't play each other this season.

Damnit. That sucks. Hopefully he makes it back to the NHL then

[stevie for president 42]

in all honesty, i hope it happens. a wings-sharks rivalry would be awesome.

[12Newf 0]

in all honesty, i hope it happens. a wings-sharks rivalry would be awesome.

im all for it, mccarty could kick his ass which would be great and not to mention how could lemieux possibly make them better? this can only be a good thing for detroit.

[RWK23 0]

Not only do i wish utter failure on this man, I also hope he gets herpes.

I agree with this post.

[interminded 1]

Let the man embarras himself.

It'll be fun to watch !

[JayUp88 1]

I wonder if this is what other people though of Mac's come back.

[j.hoop 64]

him and mccarty are gonna have to have round 3

[PenaltyShot 96 521]

All these other fights are just warm-ups, Mac is working his way back to another bout with The Turtle. Man, that would be awesome to see! NHL please make this happen.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

I wonder if this is what other people though of Mac's come back.

I wouldn't think so.

McCarty was 35 when he came back and had missed less than a full season.

Lemieux is 43 and hasn't played since the '03 season, prior to the lockout.

[Barrie 900]

I wouldn't think so.

McCarty was 35 when he came back and had missed less than a full season.

Lemieux is 43 and hasn't played since the '03 season, prior to the lockout.

I wouldn't think so either. Mac, despite being a fighter, I'm sure is well liked among hockey fans. Also Mac was trying to change his life, it was a feel good story. The majority of people would have been rooting for him.

Lemieux on the other hand is an @ss.

Edit: Probably only Avs and Devils fans would be behind him.

Edited November 26, 2008 by Barrie

[mjlegend 155]

From a Yahoo! News article during the 2000 playoffs:

Ah, Claude Lemieux -- this exchange with Flyers captain Eric Desjardins in Game 2 shows "Pepe" is a master of playoff trash talk, if not the English language. Lemieux skated up to Desjardins and said: "What's the 'C' on your sweater stand for? Selfish?" Unaware of his linguistic snafu, Lemieux skated away, leaving Desjardins to chuckle at his former Canadiens teammate. "I just laughed," Desjardins said. . . .

http://www.geocities.com/beckmank/lemieuxquotes.html

Edited November 25, 2008 by mjlegend

[The Mule 0]

If Lemieux somehow cracks the Sharks' roster, I would love to see D-Mac embarrass him again.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

From a Yahoo! News article during the 2000 playoffs:

Ah, Claude Lemieux -- this exchange with Flyers captain Eric Desjardins in Game 2 shows "Pepe" is a master of playoff trash talk, if not the English language. Lemieux skated up to Desjardins and said: "What's the 'C' on your sweater stand for? Selfish?" Unaware of his linguistic snafu, Lemieux skated away, leaving Desjardins to chuckle at his former Canadiens teammate. "I just laughed," Desjardins said. . . .

http://www.geocities.com/beckmank/lemieuxquotes.html

Hahaha, Kevin Hodson is the man. As is Aaron Ward. Lemieux is just a classless human being, but I do want to see him back in the NHL, just because beating San Jose would be so much sweeter if it was Claude we were beating.

[Barrie 900]

If Lemieux somehow cracks the Sharks' roster, I would love to see D-Mac embarrass him again.

I'd like to see Datsyuk punch Lemieux.

[AtomicPunk 296]

They DO know this is CLAUDE Lemieux, right, not Mario?

[RockyMountainWingGal 108]

I wouldn't think so either. Mac, despite being a fighter, I'm sure is well liked among hockey fans. Also Mac was trying to change his life, it was a feel good story. The majority of people would have been rooting for him.

Lemieux on the other hand is an @ss.

Edit: Probably only Avs and Devils fans would be behind him.

Yes I've had this argument on Av's boards: Lemieux is really a nice guy who is misunderstood while Bertuzzi is clearly an A-hole.

I think Lemieux is an ass and I had hoped not to ever see him in the NHL again - wtf with the Sharks - they don't need some washed up old fart like that the way they are playing - I just lost alot of respect for that organization....

[miller76 463]

I have a hard time seeing this old fart crack that stacked line up in SJ. He has been gone to long. Tell me the game hasn't changed since 2003. xm today was talking about it, and CL was quoted in saying, he didn't care what level he played at (AHL or NHL) , he just wanted to be at the arena and be around the guys and so on. And all I could think of in response was, enjoy your retirement and buy season tickets, if you want to be at the arena! He is still a turd in my book!

Edited November 26, 2008 by miller76

[Guest micah]

If Lemieux somehow cracks the Sharks' roster, I would love to see D-Mac embarrass him again.

When did McCarty embarrass him the first time? I recall one instance where DMac, then a noted tough-guy in the league, jumped an unsuspecting Lemieux and beat him pretty good. That's not embarassing. I also remember another instance where the two agreed to a fight right off a faceoff and Lemieux, despite being a skilled player and Conn Smythe trophy winner and NOT a noted fighter, fearlessly agreed to a straight-up fight with McCarty. While Lemieux didn'rt win this fight, he hung in there and certainly wasn't embarrassed by it. If anyone should have been embarrassed, it should have been McCarty. He's tough enough that A) he needn't jump people, and B) he should be able to beat-up non-fighting skilled players with relative ease. I loved DMac and a loathed Lemieux before the brawl game. A year later, I thought much more of Claude and much less of Mac.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

When did McCarty embarrass him the first time? I recall one instance where DMac, then a noted tough-guy in the league, jumped an unsuspecting Lemieux and beat him pretty good. That's not embarassing. I also remember another instance where the two agreed to a fight right off a faceoff and Lemieux, despite being a skilled player and Conn Smythe trophy winner and NOT a noted fighter, fearlessly agreed to a straight-up fight with McCarty. While Lemieux didn'rt win this fight, he hung in there and certainly wasn't embarrassed by it. If anyone should have been embarrassed, it should have been McCarty. He's tough enough that A) he needn't jump people, and B) he should be able to beat-up non-fighting skilled players with relative ease. I loved DMac and a loathed Lemieux before the brawl game. A year later, I thought much more of Claude and much less of Mac.

You don't remember the part in the first fight where Lemieux fell to the ice and ducked and covered instead of trying to fight? Jumped or not, most guys would've gotten the gloves off and swung back instead of turtling.

Him not being a noted fighter is no excuse. When you live by the sword as Lemieux did, by agitating and the occasional cheapshot, there will be a day of reckoning. If he wanted to avoid those confrontations, he should've played a cleaner game.

[Guest micah]

You don't remember the part in the first fight where Lemieux fell to the ice and ducked and covered instead of trying to fight? Jumped or not, most guys would've gotten the gloves off and swung back instead of turtling.

Him not being a noted fighter is no excuse. When you live by the sword as Lemieux did, by agitating and the occasional cheapshot, there will be a day of reckoning. If he wanted to avoid those confrontations, he should've played a cleaner game.

The fact that claude was a cheapshot artist (and he was, make no mistake about it) does not excuse McCarty for taking the coward's way out and cheapshotting him back. Claude's hit on Draper was garbage and his refusal to appologise was worse - but I don't decry him for turtling. He was blindsided by a punch to the head, it could well be that all he was capable of weas going down and covering up. I think we've all been there. He showed the world the next season that McCarty wasn't so tough, and that he certainly wasn't scared of him. I've been in little scraps where I've been hit by someone I didn't see coming - it's confusing, and my first instinct was not to fight back but to cover up - heck, I didn't even really percieve that I'd been punched.

The correct way to "embarrass" a dirty player is to do it cleanly. Had Kris Draper dropped his gloves and squared off with and beat up Claude Lemieux, Claude probably would habve been embarrassed. I wouldn't be embarrassed to drop to the ice after getting suckered by the other team's tough guy. I would be embarrassed if I got schooled by the other team's wimp.

[Barrie 900]

The fact that claude was a cheapshot artist (and he was, make no mistake about it) does not excuse McCarty for taking the coward's way out and cheapshotting him back. Claude's hit on Draper was garbage and his refusal to appologise was worse - but I don't decry him for turtling. He was blindsided by a punch to the head, it could well be that all he was capable of weas going down and covering up. I think we've all been there. He showed the world the next season that McCarty wasn't so tough, and that he certainly wasn't scared of him. I've been in little scraps where I've been hit by someone I didn't see coming - it's confusing, and my first instinct was not to fight back but to cover up - heck, I didn't even really percieve that I'd been punched.

The correct way to "embarrass" a dirty player is to do it cleanly. Had Kris Draper dropped his gloves and squared off with and beat up Claude Lemieux, Claude probably would habve been embarrassed. I wouldn't be embarrassed to drop to the ice after getting suckered by the other team's tough guy. I would be embarrassed if I got schooled by the other team's wimp.

Please, don't even try and debate this or take Lemieux's side. Along with not saying he was sorry to Draper, Claude also added fuel to the fire the next year in the media saying he made Draper's career and made Draper another $100,000. Lemieux deserved everything he got that night from McCarty.

Also, Lemieux was injured for almost half of 1996-97, so Draper and the rest of the Wings didn't have a chance to avenge the hit on Draper prior to March 1997.

[RockyMountainWingGal 108]

When did McCarty embarrass him the first time? I recall one instance where DMac, then a noted tough-guy in the league, jumped an unsuspecting Lemieux and beat him pretty good. That's not embarassing. I also remember another instance where the two agreed to a fight right off a faceoff and Lemieux, despite being a skilled player and Conn Smythe trophy winner and NOT a noted fighter, fearlessly agreed to a straight-up fight with McCarty. While Lemieux didn'rt win this fight, he hung in there and certainly wasn't embarrassed by it. If anyone should have been embarrassed, it should have been McCarty. He's tough enough that A) he needn't jump people, and B) he should be able to beat-up non-fighting skilled players with relative ease. I loved DMac and a loathed Lemieux before the brawl game. A year later, I thought much more of Claude and much less of Mac.

You must be clad in your Forsberg jersey as you are writing this......

[Barrie 900]

THN.com Blog: "Comeback Kid" Lemieux most hated ever

by Jason Kay

29/11/2008 3:00:02 AM

Claude Lemieux's comeback attempt will inject more hate into the NHL if he manages to make it that far.

Claude Lemieux is No. 1, so why try harder?

The quintessential shift disturber ranks atop the register of most hated players of all-time in our recently released publication, The Ultimate Book of Hockey Lists.

Now, as he attempts an improbable comeback with the San Jose Sharks at age 43, the question becomes: can he do anything to alter that status if he indeed makes it all the way back to the NHL?

Not likely, but stay tuned. In the meantime, you can digest this excerpt from the book...or even purchase a copy to get our take on the order of the universe in 100 other areas.

MOST HATED PLAYERS

1. Claude Lemieux - Mtl, NJ, Col, Phx, Dal (1984-2003)

2. Sprague Cleghorn - Ott, Tor, Mtl, Bos (1918-1928)

3. Ken Linseman - Phi, Edm, Bos, Tor (1978-91)

4. Kenny Reardon - Mtl (1940-50)

5. Ulf Samuelsson - Hfd, Pit, NYR, Det, Phi (1984-2000)

6. Sean Avery - Det, LA, NYR, Dal (2001-present)

7. Eddie Shore - Bos, NY Americans (1926-1940)

8. Billy Smith - LA, NYI (1971-1989)

9. Dale Hunter - Que, Wsh, Col (1980-99)

10. Bryan Marchment - Wpg, Chi, Hfd, Edm, TB, SJ, Col, Tor, Cgy (1989-2006)

The Terrible 10 share two common traits: they were universally despised and highly successful.

Exhibit A: Claude Lemieux. He was the ultimate do-whatever-it-takes-to-win player; using his stick to score big goals and whack opponents, while using his mouth to annoy foes and on at least one occasion, bite. He won four Stanley Cups with three different teams, garnering the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP with New Jersey in 1995.

His legacy was cemented when, as a member of the Colorado Avalanche in the 1996 Western Conference final against Detroit, he dangerously crushed Kris Draper from behind into the boards. Draper sustained a broken jaw, nose and cheekbone and required reconstructive surgery on his face. Lemieux was suspended two playoff games and incited one of the most heated rivalries hockey has ever seen.

http://sports.sympatico.msn.ca/NHL/Content...c&date=True

I'm glad to see it isn't just Wings fans who hate this piece of trash.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

While I like that Lemieux plays/played a hard-nosed game, I never have really liked him obviously due to the Draper incident and he just seemed to go overboard with the hard-nosed game sometimes. I'm all for aggressive play and hard hitting, but you got to know when to not go overboard. I got over all the heated rivalry stuff between the Avalanche and Wings though and having an utter disdain for him a long time ago and moved on from that. Don't really like him but part of me thinks this would be a cool comeback story, kinda like JR when everybody left him for dead in the water but he's cheating father time in hockey some with the Sharks.

[Dabura 12,232]

part of me thinks this would be a cool comeback story, kinda like JR when everybody left him for dead in the water but he's cheating father time in hockey some with the Sharks.

Only, JR's an okay guy, whereas Lemieux is scum.

"Cool" is one of the last words I'd use to describe this guy returning to the NHL.