CLAUDE TRADED??? TELL ME THIS IS A BAD DREAM!!

The day I hoped would never happen has happened. Claude Lemieux has been traded back to the New Jeresy Devils for Brian Rolston. This is very sad news and a dark day for me here at Mile High Stanley's AVS Page. I have always been a huge fan of Claude as you can tell with my tribute! And when the Avs traded for Claude to start the 95-96 season I was thrilled to have one of my favorite players playing here in Denver.

No matter what I will still be a very big Claude fan no matter who he plays for! He is a class guy and one of the best playoff performers ever to skate in the NHL. He was a pivotal part of the Avs cup winning season back in 1996.

No question the memory that will stand out the most is game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against Detroit. That was the game Claude hits Draper for the famous "hit". I will not remember the hit so much as how Claude played that game and what he did after the game.

He played that game at 110 percent for the short time he was on the ice, like he always does. Then after the game after being ejected for the hit, as all of us in the arena were going nuts chanting "Stanley Cup!, Stanley Cup!", there was Claude on the ice wearing his Western Conference Champions hat and t-shirt to celebrate the win with the rest of his team mates and the 16,000 plus of us fans at Big Mac.

That will be one of many memories I will remember having the chance to watch Claude play in person. It is just a shame I will not be able to watch him every night like I have the past 4 seasons. I will miss Claude very much. I would like to thank him for giving us fans here in Denver some very memorable memories. He will be sorely missed! Good luck to Claude in Jersey, we will miss you! But we will be here to welcome you back when you return here in Denver on the 2nd of March.

CLAUDE'S CAREER STATS!!

Season	Team	GP	G	A	TP	PIM	+/-	PP	SH	GW	GT	Shots	Pct
1983-1984	Canadiens	8	1	1	2	12	-2	0	0	0	0	7	14.28
1984-1985	Canadiens	1	0	1	1	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	NA
1985-1986	Canadiens	10	1	2	3	22	-6	1	0	0	0	16	6.25
1986-1987	Canadiens	76	27	26	53	156	0	5	0	2	0	184	14.67
1987-1988	Canadiens	78	31	30	61	137	16	6	0	3	1	241	12.86
1988-1989	Canadiens	69	29	22	51	136	14	7	0	3	0	220	13.18
1989-1990	Canadiens	39	8	10	18	106	-8	3	0	1	0	104	7.69
1990-1991	Devils	78	30	17	47	105	-8	10	0	2	0	271	11.07
1991-1992	Devils	74	41	27	68	109	9	13	1	8	3	296	13.85
1992-1993	Devils	77	30	51	81	155	3	13	0	3	2	311	9.64
1993-1994	Devils	79	18	26	44	86	13	5	0	5	0	181	9.94
1994-1995	Devils	45	6	13	19	86	2	1	0	1	0	117	5.12
1995-1996	Avalanche	79	39	32	71	117	14	9	2	10	0	315	12.38
1996-1997	Avalanche	45	11	17	28	43	-4	5	0	4	0	168	6.54
1997-1998	Avalanche	78	26	27	53	115	-7	11	1	1	1	261	9.96
1998-1999	Avalanche	82	27	24	51	102	0	11	0	8	1	292	9.24
1999-2000	Devils	70	17	21	38	86	-3	7	0	3	0	221	7.69
1999-2000	Avalanche	13	3	6	9	4	0	0	0	0	0	36	8.33
2000-2001	Coyotes	46	10	16	26	58	1	2	0	1	0	99	10.10
2001-2002	Coyotes	82	16	25	41	70	-5	4	1	3	0	174	9.19
2002-2003	Coyotes	36	6	8	14	30	-3	1	1	0	1	74	8.10
2002-2003	Stars	32	2	4	6	14	-9	0	0	0	0	45	4.44
NHL Totals		1197	379	406	785	1756	18	114	6	58	9	3633	10.43

Playoffs	Team	GP	G	A	TP	PIM	+/-	PP	SH	GW	GT	Shots	Pct
1985-1986	Canadiens	20	10	5	15	68	1	4	0	4	0	0	NA
1986-1987	Canadiens	17	4	9	13	41	6	2	0	0	0	0	NA
1987-1988	Canadiens	11	3	2	5	20	-2	0	0	2	0	28	10.71
1988-1989	Canadiens	18	4	3	7	58	0	1	0	1	0	46	8.69
1989-1990	Canadiens	11	1	3	4	38	2	0	0	1	0	24	4.16
1990-1991	Devils	7	4	0	4	34	-3	2	0	1	0	24	16.66
1991-1992	Devils	7	4	3	7	26	1	1	0	0	0	33	12.12
1992-1993	Devils	5	2	0	2	19	-3	1	0	0	0	15	13.33
1993-1994	Devils	20	7	11	18	44	4	0	0	2	0	50	14.0
1994-1995	Devils	20	13	3	16	20	12	0	0	3	0	65	20.0
1995-1996	Avalanche	19	5	7	12	55	5	3	0	0	0	81	6.17
1996-1997	Avalanche	17	13	10	23	32	7	4	0	4	0	73	17.80
1997-1998	Avalanche	7	3	3	6	8	2	1	0	1	0	29	10.34
1998-1999	Avalanche	19	3	11	14	26	5	1	0	0	0	69	4.34
1999-2000	Devils	23	4	6	10	28	7	1	0	0	0	78	5.12
2001-2002	Coyotes	5	0	0	0	2	-2	0	0	0	0	13	0.0
2002-2003	Stars	7	0	1	1	10	-1	0	0	0	0	6	0.0
NHL Totals		233	80	77	157	529	41	21	0	19	0	634	12.61

Claude Lemieux by far is my most favorite Avs player. Most people hate him but not me! A lot of people think he is cheap and dirty? Well not this hockey fan! Claude is a great leader both off and on the ice. He plays the game at 100% all the time and never quits. He is also a pro at getting into the mind of the other team. A lot of his critics say he never fights? He went toe to toe with Keith Tkachuk of the Coyotes in the world cup and fought Todd Simpson of the Flames after Simpson had taken down Forsberg earlier in the year. Claude can hold his own there is no doubt about that. And when all is said and done this guy has won 4 Cups with 3 different teams! That alone is a awesome accomplishment. And when he won the cup with the Devils he was awarded with the Conn Smythe Award. Because of his leadership and his play this season he was given the honor of wearing the assistant captains "A" on his sweater. A small but very much honored reward for a great player! This man could play on my team any day!

THE HIT!!!

As far as I am concerned the hit Claude put on Draper in game 6 of the Western Conference Finals in 1996 was just fine. Sure it is a shame Draper got hurt, no one including Claude wants to see that happen. But this is a rough, physical and dangerous sport at times. It is a sport that is also played with such speed that you need a slow mo camera at times to pick up the action. In slow motion of course the hit looks bad. But in real time it is just another hit! If that hit comes at center ice Draper gets up and walks away. It was a dangerous spot on the ice that the hit occurred and the results were scary. Claude did not skate from across the ice with a bulls eye on Draper's back like the Wing fans like to think. Also something Wings fans tend to forget is that the puck was in play and right in the area of Draper. Claude did not wait till the puck was out of play to go after someone! He played within the rules of the game! While the game was going on. Unlike a Mr. McCarty in Detroit, who had no guts to take a shot at Claude while the puck was in play. Instead he waited till play was stopped and Claude was turned away and took a cheap shot at him knowing full well what he was going to do. Claude however, did not plan or want to hurt Draper. He was just playing the game as he always does, at 100% no hold bars!!! The result from all that was a his third Stanley Cup ring.

THIS STORY SHOWS THE CLASS OF CLAUDIE!!!!!!

By Adrian Dater
Denver Post Sports Writer

Dec. 18 - He's been called a villain, a coward and just about every other disparaging term you could think of since he came into the NHL in 1985-86 as a feisty winger with the Montreal Canadiens.

But those who know Lemieux well know the other side of him, the gentler man who really cares about those who could use a smile in life.

On the day he scored a goal and assisted on another in the Colorado Avalanche's 2-2 tie with the Detroit Red Wings Wednesday night, Le mieux was doing something much more important.

Lemieux was at the bedside of 12-year-old Brittany Lamb earlier in the day, doing his best to put a smile on her face when there wasn't much reason for her to.

Lamb, a big Lemieux fan who named her cat after him, was involved in a head-on auto collision that killed her aunt, Julie Olmstead, Sunday night in Littleton.

It was considered a miracle Lamb survived. She went through six hours of surgery at Swedish Medical Center, and when she opened her eyes for the first time since the crash, Lemieux was there.

"She opened her eyes once, and looked up at me,'' Lemieux said. "I think she knew I was there. I was just trying to do my part. I read about her. We all need to do something. It meant a lot more to me than a hockey game.''

If anything, that should put some perspective on the importance of each "crucial'' Avalanche-Red Wings bout.

Through all the hatred and bloodshed that has been the teams' hallmark the past 2 1/2 years, there really are human beings beneath the uniforms.

Lemieux, who has a handicapped brother and does a lot of charity work, nevertheless had to strap on his helmet and go to battle against the hated Wings.

And, as usual, the game didn't disappoint.

Back and forth both teams went all night. There were marvelous plays nearly by the minute, and it was appropriate the game ended in a tie.

Peter Forsberg's goal with 2:15 left was the reason it did, a nifty deflection of Lemieux's backhander from between the circles.

The goal came after Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom put the Wings ahead with 7:55 left in the third, on a breakaway goal past Craig Billington.

Otherwise, Billington was superb in place of ailing Patrick Roy. Billington stopped 38 of 40 shots.

"It was a good hockey game,'' Billington said. "We played pretty well, and they did as well. It's a point, and I think there are a lot of good habits we can take out of this.''

As usual, there was plenty of acrimony. An Adam Foote-Brendan Shanahan fight in the second period was the most acrimonious.

But, mostly, there was good, hard hockey played on both sides, with not many cheap shots.

"It was very good hockey game,'' Avs coach Marc Crawford said. "Both clubs battled really hard from the opening faceoff.''

Lemieux broke a scoreless tie with 4:33 left in the second period with a slap shot from the right circle that cleanly beat Wings goalie Chris Osgood (26 saves).

But the Avs' Eric Lacroix was called for holding at 19:01 of the second, and Shanahan wasted only 21 seconds tying the game on the power play.

Speaking of the power play, it wasn't the Avs' strong suit in this one. They failed to capitalize on a two-man advantage for 1:20 in the first period, and finished the night 0 for 5.

But otherwise, the Avs were fairly solid. They still need some shoring up in their own zone, as the 40 shots against attest. But Colorado had good jump at the other end most of the game, and would have won if they hadn't hit the post twice in the third period.

"There's been a lot of good games and battles, and this one resembled a playoff game,'' Lemieux said.