Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen shared a heartfelt tribute to his late agent and close friend Claude Lemieux, who died by suicide on Thursday, May 28, at age 60. In a statement released by the Hurricanes on Sunday, May 31, Andersen said Lemieux had a profound influence on his life for more than 15 years and described him as “an even better human being” than the celebrated hockey player he was known to be.
Andersen said Lemieux made him feel like family from the beginning of their relationship, treating him with care, compassion, loyalty and love. He added that Lemieux had the same effect on Andersen’s own family and left a lasting impact on everyone he met. Andersen expressed sympathy for Lemieux’s wife, Deborah, and their children Brendan, Christopher, Michael and Claudia, saying he could not imagine the pain Lemieux was experiencing and hoped he was now in a better place.
Lemieux had a 21-year NHL career that ended in 2009 before he moved into sports management, where he became a respected agent representing prominent hockey players, including Andersen. The Palm Beach Medical Examiner confirmed the cause of death to Us Weekly. Andersen and the Hurricanes are scheduled to play Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, June 2.
In a separate statement released by the Lemieux family on Saturday, May 30, the family said Lemieux’s brain will be donated to the UNITE Brain Bank at the Boston University CTE Center for research into the long-term effects of repetitive head impacts and traumatic brain injury. The family said the donation is intended as a gift to science, athletes and future generations seeking answers, while emphasizing that no conclusions should be drawn yet about any diagnosis.
The family said Lemieux devoted his post-playing career to helping the next generation and hoped that connecting his name to the research could encourage greater understanding, more honest conversations and improved protection for athletes and families in the future. They also thanked fans, former teammates, opponents, organizations and friends across the hockey world for their support during the family’s time of grief.
