A report claims that NHL star Claude Lemieux’s family expressed worry over the player’s behavior and feared a relapse of his substance abuse a few months before he ended his own life on May 28.
An official report of the retired NHL star’s death notes that his son, Brendan, spoke about how the family noticed a behavior change that had them worried that Lemieux had relapsed after 12 years of sobriety, according to TMZ Sports.
According to the report, Lemieux’s wife, Deborah, confronted him on May 27 about his likely relapse, and during a fight over the issue, she told him to leave the home.
After Deborah called Brendan with her worries, the younger man found his dad’s vehicle parked at the family business and immediately feared that Claude might be despondent. He told investigators he removed a gun from Claude’s truck to keep it from his dad.
But when Brendan entered the business, he found his dad unresponsive and called 911 at around 3:45 a.m. Claude was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
Police say that a cell phone was found near Claude’s body, and a message was supposedly written on it.
Previously, officials revealed that Lemieux had committed suicide by hanging.
He leaves behind three sons, a daughter, and his wife, Deborah.
In addition to winning the Stanley Cup with three different teams, Lemieux won the Conn Smythe Trophy, the NHL’s most valuable player award. His final public appearance was at game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals in May of 2026, where he was a torch-bearer for the Montreal Canadiens.
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