A small, but noteworthy, NHL scoop here, via a conversation with San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson:
On the night former teammate Patrick Roy will have his sweater retired by the Montreal Canadiens, the equally mercurial Claude Lemieux will try to keep his NHL comeback dreams alive by joining the Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League on a tryout basis.
Lemieux, at 43, is a four-time Stanley Cup champion and the winner of the 1994-95 Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. However, he hasn't played an NHL game since before the lockout. Recently, he joined the China Sharks of the Asia League of Ice Hockey for a handful of games, before returning to his home in Arizona to ponder his future.
In the midst of a longer conversation over his team's excellent performance in the first quarter of the NHL season, Wilson confirmed that Lemieux will report to Worcester to play for the team's AHL affiliate under general manager Wayne Thomas. However, Wilson stressed that the Sharks had made no commitment to Lemieux beyond providing him with a place to play, so that he can determine for himself whether a possible comeback attempt was realistic or not.
Wilson indicated that he was prepared to give Lemieux a chance because he'd known him for years. Lemieux also received a positive endorsement from former Phoenix Coyotes teammate and current Shark, Jeremy Roenick. Roenick was a player San Jose rescued from the scrap heap last season, who then went on to be a valuable contributor for them in their opening-round playoff victory over the Calgary Flames.
Lemieux, too, is known primarily for his stellar play in playoffs past. For the Sharks, the No. 1 team in the NHL through the first quarter, getting deeper into the playoffs this coming spring is an absolute priority, after falling in the second round in each of the past two seasons. Whether Lemieux will be part of the mix by then is anybody's guess but will depend largely upon his play, because Wilson reiterated several times that no promises had been made.
“He'll go to Worcester and play for Wayne Thomas and then we'll see where it goes from there,” Wilson said in an interview.
Lemieux scored 379 goals and 406 assists in 1,197 regular-season games. His 233 career playoff games are tied for fourth on the all-time list and he has scored 19 playoff game-winning goals, third most in history. Until his brief visit to China, Lemieux last played a meaningful game in the Swiss League for EV Zug, during the 2003-04 season. He had been skating with the Arizona Sundogs of the Central Hockey League earlier this season, after announcing his intentions of returning to the NHL.
Of late, the Sharks have developed a reputation as an organization that leaves no stone unturned in the search for help on the ice. Last year, in addition to bringing in Roenick when it appeared his career was over, they also gave Sandis Ozolinsh, another former star, a chance to play, after it looked as if Ozolinsh had run out of NHL options as well.
