A close friend of Claude Lemieux has spoken about what he describes as a lingering sense of “injustice” the late NHL legend carried in the years leading up to his death, offering a more personal glimpse into the emotional weight he may have been living with.

“He always lived this as an injustice, a heavy burden to bear,” Réjean Tremblay, a Montreal hockey columnist and longtime friend of Lemieux, told The New York Post in an interview published Saturday, May 30. Tremblay said the former Stanley Cup champion was “deeply sensitive to rejection” and never fully accepted not being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame after retiring in 2009.

Lemieux, 60, was found dead on Thursday, May 28, by one of his three sons. His death was later ruled a suicide.

In a public statement, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman paid tribute to Lemieux, calling him “a four-time Stanley Cup champion and one of the greatest big-game players in hockey history.” Lemieux played 21 seasons in the NHL from 1983 to 2009 and is survived by his wife Deborah, daughter Claudia, and sons Brendan, Christopher, and Michael.

Following the news, his son Brendan shared a brief message on Instagram, writing: “I love you dad! My son’s favorite person is going to watch from above for a while. We will see you.”

The hockey world was shaken further by the timing of his passing, which came just three days after Lemieux made an emotional public appearance at Game 3 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Final between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes on May 25, where he served as a torchbearer. Lemieux played for Montreal from 1983 to 1990.

Tremblay suggested that the outpouring of emotion he received that night may have had an unexpected impact.

“It’s possible that surge of love, that wave of love on Monday evening, triggered an emotion that was too intense,” he said, adding, “It might have reawakened old pains, old suffering.”

Another close friend, Colombe Lacroix, told The New York Post that Lemieux had been struggling emotionally in the period before his death.

“He’s been going through a difficult time, he was depressed,” she said. “They didn’t expect that at all. They never saw it coming. It’s so devastating, everyone is upside down.”

Lacroix, the widow of former Colorado Avalanche general manager Pierre Lacroix, also recalled a final personal moment with Lemieux.

“I held Claude in my arms, and I said thank you for being there for me,” she said. “He left our world too soon and I hope he’s in a better place and that he’s happy.”S

Source: US Weekly