Claude Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion whose hockey career was built on playing on the edge with ferocity and physicality, has died. He was 60.

The NHL Alumni Association announced Lemieux’s death in a post on social media. A cause of death was not immediately available, nor was it clear where Lemieux was when he died.

Lemieux joined the Dallas Stars thanks to a midseason trade with the Phoenix Coyotes in January 2003 in exchange for Scott Pellerin and a conditional draft pick. He appeared in 32 regular season and seven playoff games as the Stars finished with the best record in the Western Conference, but fell in the second round of the playoffs. 

He briefly retired as a Star after the 2002-03 season, before making an NHL comeback with the San Jose Sharks in 2008-09.

“The Dallas Stars organization is deeply saddened by the passing of Stars alum and NHL great Claude Lemieux,” the team said in a statement posted to social media. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the entire Lemieux family.”

“Today is a dark day for the Canadiens family and the entire hockey community,” Canadiens owner Geoff Molson said. “A fierce competitor who rose to the occasion in big moments, Claude was a relentless, courageous, and tenacious player who led the team to the highest honors. He embodied the very essence of being a Montreal Canadiens player. Today we mourn the untimely passing of one of our champions. Our thoughts are with his family on this difficult day.”

As a player, Lemieux was a mix of skill and abrasiveness, not afraid to cross the line in the name of competition.

He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for his role in helping the New Jersey Devils win their first championship in 1995. A year later with the Colorado Avalanche, he was suspended for two games for a hit from behind on Detroit’s Kris Draper on the way to them hoisting the Stanley Cup for the first time in their first season since moving from his native Quebec.

Lemieux also won the Cup with Montreal in 1986 and returned to the Devils to be a part of their 2000 title run in which they denied Dallas back-to-back championships. He played 1,449 regular-season and playoff games with six different teams from 1983-2009.

Commissioner Gary Bettman called Lemieux “one of the greatest big-game players in hockey history.”

The Associated Press contributed to this post.