Rasmus Andersson got a text from his agent Claude Lemieux on Wednesday, the day after the Vegas Golden Knights punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final.
The next day, Lemieux was gone.
“I couldn’t believe it when I got the call yesterday,” Andersson said.
Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion and 1995 Conn Smythe Trophy winner who became a well-respected agent in the hockey community, died on Thursday by apparent suicide at 60 years old.
Andersson was one of Lemieux’s clients with 4sports Hockey. Among other players Lemieux represented were former Knights forward Victor Olofsson, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider and Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen.
Andersson had known Lemieux since he was 13 years old when he came to North America from Sweden to play with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League. Andersson was junior teammates with Brendan Lemieux, who played 307 NHL games in his career.
“I know firsthand just how awesome Claude was and how good he treated other people,” Andersson said Friday. “I’m sending all my love to (wife) Deborah, Brendan and the other kids (sons Michael and Christopher, and daughter Claudia). Just terrible.”
Andersson said he and Lemieux talked more over the past year and a half than they ever had before, because the defenseman was among the top trade targets available over that span.
They talked “two, three times a day this whole season” until the Knights completed the deal to acquire Andersson from the Calgary Flames on Jan. 18.
“It’s one of those things you just can’t believe it’s true,” Andersson said. “He meant a lot to me in my career.”
Andersson, 29, is a pending unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason. While it’s still expected the Knights will sign Andersson to a new contract, Lemieux was supposed to be the point man on those discussions.
“Me and Claude, we laid out a plan,” Andersson said. “It was mostly for me, him and another guy. We’re going to try to fulfill that plan and we’ll take it from there.”
Lemieux played 1,215 regular season games, and 234 playoff contests, with six different teams. A second-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 1983, Lemieux won his first Stanley Cup in his rookie year in 1986 with Montreal.
Lemieux was the Canadiens’ honorary torch bearer prior to Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final on Monday.
Tu es chez toi ici, Claude Lemieux! 👏
Welcome home, Claude Lemieux!#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/fQvfhZSNUB
— x – Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) May 26, 2026
Lemieux won back-to-back titles in 1995 with the New Jersey Devils, where he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP with 13 goals in 20 games, and 1996 with the Colorado Avalanche. His last title came with the Devils in 2000.
Andersson remembers Lemieux more as the family man. He recalled Lemieux being excited about becoming a grandfather last season. Lemieux came to Andersson’s house in October, and Lemieux spent half the time playing with Andersson’s two kids, Benjamin and Lucy.
Benjamin showed Lemieux his collection of Avengers action figures, and the two would play for “hours and hours.”
“Just an awesome human,” Andersson said.
If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org. Additionally, the Crisis Text Line is a free, national service available 24/7. Text HOME to 741741.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
