Jocelyn Lemieux says he has reached a point where he no longer tries to make sense of his brother Claude Lemieux’s death.
Speaking Friday on Mario Langlois’ Les amateurs de sports, the former Montreal Canadiens winger opened up for the first time since Claude took his own life, just days after serving as the torchbearer for Game 3 of the Canadiens’ series against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The conversation came after Jocelyn had already gone public about another difficult turn in his life: his contract with RDS was not renewed after 15 years as the analyst for Ottawa Senators games. Langlois brought him on the show, and the interview stretched beyond that news into the family tragedy that has clearly weighed heavily on him.
Jocelyn said the note Claude left behind showed a side of him he had never seen before. He described that vulnerability as something he wishes he had known about sooner. He also said Claude wrote personal notes to the people close to him, adding that Lemieux had left notes to “Everybody”.
For Jocelyn, that detail matters. It doesn’t lessen the pain, but it suggests Claude took the time to think everything through before ending his life.
He also revisited the shock of the timing. After Claude had been involved in the pregame at the Bell Centre, the two brothers spent the next day together.
Jocelyn said everything seemed normal: Claude was funny, relaxed, and gave no sign of what was coming. Then, a couple of nights later, he was gone.
That’s where Jocelyn says he’s landed now: he has stopped trying to understand, because some things, in his view, simply won’t ever be understood.
The interview also touched on the hard realities that have followed both brothers throughout their careers. Claude and Jocelyn played with a rugged style and each took numerous concussions. Langlois asked Jocelyn whether he feared what he might do to himself, and Jocelyn said he didn’t anymore, though he added that what he had once feared in himself may have been what ultimately took his brother from him.
The full interview was conducted in French.
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