Patrick Roy poured his heart out in a tribute to Claude Lemieux that fans won't forget
Patrick Roy has spoken publicly on the passing of Claude Lemieux, and the tribute hits with the weight of a shared championship history.
Patrick Roy and Claude Lemieux built one of the NHL's most memorable championship partnerships, winning the Stanley Cup together twice during their careers.
Their first triumph came in 1986 with the Montreal Canadiens, when a young Roy shocked the hockey world by capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
A decade later, the duo reunited at the top of the hockey world with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996, helping the franchise capture a Stanley Cup in its very first season in Denver.
Roy would go on to win two more championships with Colorado in 2001, while Lemieux added another Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995, but their two titles together remain a defining part of NHL history.
Roy called Lemieux "a player who left his mark on our sport." He described his intensity and determination as the qualities that made him respected by teammates and feared by opponents.
That phrasing tells you everything about how Lemieux was viewed inside the rooms where it mattered most. The on-ice persona was a deliberate weapon. The teammates always saw the other version.
The Colorado run that defined two careers at once
Roy joined Colorado in December 1995 following his famous exit from Montreal. Lemieux arrived in the same off-season package from New Jersey. Together they helped author the franchise's first Stanley Cup in 1996.
Lemieux scored 5 goals across 22 playoff games that postseason. Roy posted a 0.921 save percentage across all 22 starts. The chemistry between the two veterans anchored the entire run.
That Avalanche group went on to define a decade of hockey rivalries. Detroit. Vancouver. Dallas. The intensity of those games still echoes through league history.
Roy's statement carries extra weight because of where he sits in the hockey world right now. The Hall of Fame goaltender is currently the head coach of the New York Islanders.
His words land differently coming from a man who shared trenches with Lemieux at the highest possible level. That bond doesn't disappear when careers end.
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Tributes have been pouring in from around the league since the news broke.
The hockey community is grieving in real time on social media. Former teammates. Former opponents. Fans of every team that ever booed him because the player demanded that reaction.
Honestly, you don't get a tribute from Patrick Roy on a day like this unless you mattered. Claude Lemieux mattered.
His four Stanley Cups, his 1995 Conn Smythe Trophy, and his 786 career points speak for themselves. The eulogies coming from teammates speak even louder.
Rest in peace, Claude. The game is poorer for the loss.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 27, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | 1 | 1 | |
| K'Andre Miller | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| William Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Cole Caufield | - | - | - | |
| Kirby Dach | - | - | - | |
| Phillip Danault | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | - | - | |
| Jakub Dobes | - | - | - | |
| Noah Dobson | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||