Claude Lemieux, whose two-decade career made him one of the NHL’s most recognizable figures, died by suicide at age 60 in his family’s furniture business warehouse in Palm Beach County, Florida.

The hockey legend hung himself shortly after 3:30 a.m. Thursday at the warehouse location, with his body discovered soon thereafter.

Lemieux had been set to carry the torch for the Montreal Canadiens at their Bell Centre home before Game 3 of the NHL conference finals against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night. The event drew an enthusiastic crowd of 21,000 fans who cheered him with smiles and adoration.

Reports indicate that Lemieux had long felt a sense of rejection from the league because he hadn’t been inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame.

According to Tremblay, a source close to Lemieux, the recent surge of love and support reawakened old pains: “It might have triggered emotions that were too intense,” he said. “It could have reactivated old suffering.”

Lemieux’s family confirmed he had been depressed in the weeks leading up to his death but was unaware of his plans to take his own life, as noted by Colombe Lacroix, a close family friend who was present at the scene Thursday.

Additionally, sources reported that Lemieux went over a decade without speaking to his children after retiring, adding significant emotional strain during his later years.

The family has granted permission for researchers at the Boston University CTE Center to study Lemieux’s brain in an effort to better understand sports-related head injuries among athletes.