Claude Lemieux, Canadian ice hockey player
Claude Percy Lemieux (born July 16, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for six teams between 1983 and 2009. Lemieux won four Stanley Cup championships during his career, two with the New Jersey Devils, with whom he won the Conn Smythe Trophy during the team's victory in the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals. He is one of only 11 players to win a Stanley Cup championship with at least three teams. He is also known as one of the best playoff performers, as his 80 career playoff goals are the ninth most in NHL history.
Lemieux was born in Buckingham, Quebec, but grew up in Mont-Laurier, Quebec. He was drafted in the second round of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens and played with them from 1983–1990, winning his first Stanley Cup with the team in 1986. In 1990, he was traded to the Devils, with whom he played five seasons and won a Stanley Cup. He was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in 1995 and won his second consecutive Stanley Cup during the 1996 finals. During the playoffs that season, Lemieux hit Kris Draper of the Detroit Red Wings from behind, breaking Draper's orbital, cheek, and jaw bones, and sparking a vicious rivalry between the Avalanche and Red Wings. In 1999, Lemieux was traded back to the Devils and won a second Stanley Cup with them in the 2000 finals – his fourth overall. Over the next few seasons, he played for the Phoenix Coyotes and Dallas Stars. Lemieux left the NHL in 2003 and briefly joined EV Zug of the Swiss Nationalliga A before retiring as a player. In 2005, he was named president of the ECHL's Phoenix RoadRunners, a position he held for two years. Lemieux returned to the NHL with the San Jose Sharks for the 2008–2009 season, but retired again after that year.
His son Brendan Lemieux is also an NHL player, a forward for the Los Angeles Kings. They are the only father-son duo to be punished by the NHL for biting other players.
1965Jul, 16
Claude Lemieux
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Events on 1965
- 8Mar
Vietnam War
Thirty-five hundred United States Marines are the first American land combat forces committed during the Vietnam War. - 15Mar
Voting Rights Act
President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to the Selma crisis, tells U.S. Congress "We shall overcome" while advocating the Voting Rights Act. - 6Aug
Voting Rights Act of 1965
US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. - 27Nov
Lyndon B. Johnson
Vietnam War: The Pentagon tells U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson that if planned operations are to succeed, the number of American troops in Vietnam has to be increased from 120,000 to 400,000. - 28Nov
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Vietnam War: In response to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson's call for "more flags" in Vietnam, Philippine President-elect Ferdinand Marcos announces he will send troops to help fight in South Vietnam.