Claude Lemieux's Family Donates His Brain for CTE Research After 4 Stanley Cups
Updated
Updated · Bleacher Report · May 31
Claude Lemieux's Family Donates His Brain for CTE Research After 4 Stanley Cups
11 articles · Updated · Bleacher Report · May 31
Claude Lemieux's family said Saturday they will donate the former NHL star's brain to Boston University's UNITE Brain Bank after his death Thursday at age 60.
The family said the donation is meant to aid research into repetitive head impacts and traumatic brain injury, and authorized the CTE Center to identify Lemieux by name in any public findings.
No diagnosis should be inferred, the family said, adding that public discussion of Lemieux's death should be handled with care because suicide is complex.
More than 1,700 brains have been donated to the UNITE program, which is seeking better understanding of CTE and a diagnostic test for a disease that still cannot be confirmed in living patients.
Lemieux won 4 Stanley Cups over 21 NHL seasons and had appeared at Montreal's Bell Centre on Monday, days before the Hurricanes honored him before Game 5 on Friday.
Could a hockey legend's final gift to science finally unlock a living test for the brain disease CTE?
What is the true human cost of professional hockey, as more legends are linked to the brain disease CTE?
Claude Lemieux’s Legacy: Family Donates Brain to CTE Research Amidst Alarming 46% Hockey Player Diagnosis Rate
Overview
Claude Lemieux’s passing on May 28, 2026, sent shockwaves through the hockey community. Just days before, he was active in public events and working as a player agent, a role he held for 16 years after his playing career. Following his death, Lemieux’s family announced the donation of his brain to the Boston University CTE Center, granting permission to publicly identify him in research. This decision reflects the family’s commitment to advancing scientific understanding of brain health in athletes and their hope that Lemieux’s life and donation will lead to greater awareness and protection for future generations.