Villain Rejoins NHL And It's Not Sean Avery: Claude Lemieux's A Shark

Claude Lemieux, one of the most hated men in hockey history has returned to the NHL at age 43.

His career included four Stanley Cup championships, one Conn Smythe Trophy, and a combined 459 regular-season and playoff goals.

In 1,197 games over 21 NHL seasons, he had 785 points and earned 1,756 penalty minutes. He has been called the No. 1 villain in the history of the NHL.

Lemieux became the president and general manager of the Phoenix Roadrunners of the East Coast Hockey League, the Arizona Sundogs of the Central Hockey League let Lemieux work out with them, then the China Sharks of the Asia Hockey Ice League gave him a contract.

He played a little more than seven minutes in the Sharks' 2-1 victory over Vancouver last Tuesday, finishing with three shots and three hits.

Lemieux was known as an agitator who could also come through offensively in important playoff situations. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy with the 1995 New Jersey Devils as the most valuable player of the post-season.

Lemieux last played in the NHL for Phoenix and Dallas in the 2002-03 season, but he had won Stanley Cups in previous stops with the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey and the Colorado Avalanche.

Lemieux has a reputation as someone who could get under the skin of opponents. His most infamous hit came during the 1996 playoffs when he bloodied Kris Draper by driving him into the sideboards.

In his sixth game back after nearly six years away from the league, Lemieux played seven minutes and a half minutes for the Sharks on Saturday night in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

After playing 23 games for the Sharks’ American Hockey League affiliate in Worcester, Mass., Lemieux was called up to the NHL last month.

The last time Lemieux was promoted from the A.H.L. to the N.H.L. was in 1986. That year, he scored 10 goals in 20 playoff games as a rookie to help the Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup.