Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux OC CQ | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1997 | ||||||
Born |
Montreal, Quebec, Canada | October 5, 1965|||||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | |||||
Weight | 235 lb (107 kg; 16 st 11 lb) | |||||
Position | Centre | |||||
Shot | Right | |||||
Played for | Pittsburgh Penguins | |||||
National team |
NHL Draft | 1st overall, | ||||
Playing career |
1984–1997 2000–2006 |
Mario Lemieux OC CQ (/ləˈmjuː/; French: [ləmjø]; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2005, and he assumed ownership of the franchise in 1999. Nicknamed "The Magnificent One", "Le Magnifique", and "Super Mario", his combination of size, strength, athleticism, and creativity made him one of the greatest players of all time.[1][2]
Drafted
Lemieux was never able to play a full season, and during his career he played in 70 or more games in a season on only six occasions; four of those seasons were before the age of 25. Lemieux's career was plagued by health problems that limited him to 915 of a possible 1,430 regular season games between the opening of the 1984–85 campaign and the final game of 2005–2006. Lemieux's NHL debut was on October 11, 1984 and his final game took place on December 16, 2005.
The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Lemieux immediately after his first retirement in 1997, waiving the normal three-year waiting period; upon his return in 2000, he became the third Hall of Famer (after Gordie Howe and Guy Lafleur) to play after being inducted.[2] Lemieux's impact on the NHL has been significant: Andrew Conte of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review called him the saviour of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and after Lemieux's retirement, Wayne Gretzky commented that "You don't replace players like Mario Lemieux ... The game will miss him."[9] Bobby Orr called him "the most talented player I've ever seen." Orr, along with Bryan Trottier and numerous fans,[4] speculated that if Lemieux had had fewer health issues, his on-ice achievements would have been much greater.[9] In 2017, he was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players".[10] He was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2004, and into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2008.
Early years
Lemieux was born in Montreal to Pierrette, a stay-at-home mom, and Jean-Guy Lemieux, an engineer. He and his older brothers Alain and Richard grew up in a working class family in the Ville-Émard district. He began playing hockey at age three in his basement; before using real equipment, he and his brothers used wooden kitchen spoons as hockey sticks and bottle caps as pucks.[11] His father created a rink on the front lawn so that the boys could practice as much as possible,[12] and according to family legend, the family sometimes packed snow onto the living room carpet so the brothers could practice indoors when it was dark.[13]
The young Lemieux was a teammate to future NHLers Marc Bergevin and J. J. Daigneault on the same minor ice hockey team from Ville-Émard.[14] Lemieux and Daigneault played together with RJ Donnelly and Gail Swann in the 1977 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. Cornish and Swann also competing in the 1978 tournament.[15]
Lemieux started his career with the
Although he played in the
Playing career
1984–1988: Early career
At the start of Lemieux's career, the Penguins were in financial turmoil and there were rumors of relocation. The team had declared bankruptcy after the 1974–75 season, and by 1983, they were averaging fewer than 7,000 fans per game—less than half of the Civic Arena's capacity.[11] They had not made the playoffs since 1982, and had not had a winning season since 1979.
He debuted on October 11, 1984, against the
By the 1987–88 season, Wayne Gretzky already won seven consecutive Art Ross Trophies for leading the league in points. That season, fuelled by his Canada Cup experience,[22] Lemieux scored 168 points and won his first NHL scoring title. He also won his first Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's Most Valuable Player to his team, and the All-Star Game MVP award after a record-setting six-point game. Despite Lemieux's success, the Penguins finished one point out of the playoffs. They did, however, have their first winning record in nine years.
1988–1992: 199 points
In the 1988–89 season, Lemieux led the league with 114 assists (tied with Gretzky) and 85 goals for 199 points; he is the only player to approach Gretzky's mammoth 200+ point seasons.[23] Lemieux finished the season a close second to Gretzky in voting for the Hart Trophy, and set several milestones and records in the process, becoming the second player to score 70+ goals in two seasons, the fourth player to score 50 goals in 50 games, and the only player to score 13 shorthanded goals in one season.[24] Buoyed in part by Lemieux's performance, the Penguins made the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
Perhaps the defining moment of Lemieux's season was on December 31, 1988, in a game against the New Jersey Devils.[23] In that game, Lemieux scored eight points and became the only player in NHL history to score a goal in all five possible game situations in the same game: even-strength, power-play, shorthanded, penalty shot, and empty-net.[25] Lemieux had another five-goal, eight-point performance in a 10–7 victory during the postseason against the Philadelphia Flyers on April 25, 1989. He tied the NHL record for most goals and points in a postseason game, most goals in a postseason period (four in the first), and most assists in a postseason period (three in the second).[26] However, the Penguins lost the series 4–3.
During the 1989–90 NHL season, Lemieux scored at least one point in 46 consecutive games before he ended the streak by leaving a game due to injury.[27] The streak's length was second only to Gretzky's 51-game streak.[28] Lemieux won his third All-Star Game MVP with a four-goal performance.[29] Although he missed 21 games, he finished fourth in the league in scoring with 123 points (45 goals, 78 assists).[24] The Penguins did not qualify for the playoffs.
Lemieux's back injury progressed into a herniated disc, which subsequently developed an infection. On July 11, 1990, Lemieux underwent back surgery to fix the disk, and he missed 50 games in the 1990–91 NHL season. In his absence, the Penguins acquired players Joe Mullen, Larry Murphy, Ron Francis, and Ulf Samuelsson in hopes of becoming serious contenders for the Stanley Cup. Despite significant back pain, Lemieux scored 16 goals and 28 assists for the playoff lead, and led the Penguins over the Minnesota North Stars for their first Stanley Cup.[24] Lemieux won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player. His 44 playoff points rank second only to Gretzky's 47 in 1985.
One of the most famous goals in NHL history is the goal Lemieux scored in the second period of game two. Receiving the puck between the Penguins' blue line and the centre line, Lemieux skated solo into the North Stars zone facing two defencemen and the goalie by himself. Lemieux skirted the puck through one of the defenders' (Shawn Chambers) legs, skated around him, forced the goaltender to commit left, then switched the puck to his backhand side and slid the puck in before crashing into the net himself. The brief video of the goal has been since featured on recent[when?] Stanley Cup promo ads by the NHL (played in reverse), as well as the opening montage of Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts.[citation needed]
Lemieux played only 64 games in his injury-plagued 1991–92 season. Despite missing several games, he won his third Art Ross Trophy with 131 points. During the second game of the Patrick Division finals, the New York Rangers' Adam Graves slashed and broke Lemieux's left hand; Lemieux missed five games, but still led the playoffs with 16 goals and 18 assists.[24] The Penguins swept the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals to earn their second consecutive Stanley Cup, and Lemieux won the Conn Smythe Trophy for the second consecutive postseason. Lemieux racked up an astonishing 78 combined points during the 1991 and 1992 playoffs, a two-year total second only to Gretzky's 82 points as his Oilers won their first and second Stanley Cup titles in 1984 and 1985.[30]
1992–1997: Cancer, return, and retirement
The Penguins started the 1992–93 season well, and Lemieux set a franchise record with at least one goal in twelve consecutive games, from October 6 to November 1.[31] He was on pace to challenge Gretzky's records of 92 goals in one season (1981–82) and 215 points in one season (1985–86),[32] until January 12, 1993, when he made the announcement that he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. He received aggressive radiation treatments which caused him to miss two months of play. When Lemieux returned, he was 12 points behind Buffalo's Pat LaFontaine in the scoring race.[32]
On the day of his last radiation treatment, Lemieux flew to Philadelphia to play against the Flyers, where he scored a goal and an assist in a 5–4 loss. Before the game Lemieux earned a standing ovation from Philadelphia fans—a rare occurrence for any visiting player, much less a Pittsburgh athlete.[32] With Lemieux back, Pittsburgh won an NHL record 17 consecutive games to finish first overall for the first time in franchise history[32] and the team's 119 points are still a franchise record. Lemieux scored at an incredible pace, notching an average 2.67 points per game—the third-highest points-per-game for a season, behind only Wayne Gretzky's 1983–84 and 1985–86 averages of 2.77 and 2.69 points per game, respectively.[32] Lemieux won his second straight and fourth overall scoring title, finishing with 160 points (69 goals, 91 assists) in 60 games, beating out LaFontaine by 12 points despite playing in 24 fewer games.[24] Throughout the season, Lemieux scored at least one point in 54 of his 60 games played.[33]
Notwithstanding Gretzky's abiding majesty, posterity will never forget that no athlete—not even the sainted Lou Gehrig—has ever before Lemieux been struck down by a deadly disease at the very moment when he was the best of his sport at the best he ever would be. And since: Lemieux has achieved miraculously in remission, struggling, on the side, with a back injury so grievous that it has benched him after he merely laced up a skate. That is the stuff that answers people these days when they wonder where all our sports heroes have gone.
The Penguins dispatched the New Jersey Devils in the first round in five games, but were upset by the New York Islanders in seven. After the season, Lemieux was awarded his second Hart Trophy, as well as the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, given to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.[24]
On July 23, 1993, Lemieux underwent his second back surgery, this time to repair a herniated muscle. He missed the first ten games of the season to recover from surgery and missed an additional 48 games due to the injury.[24] After the season, he announced that he would take a leave of absence because of fatigue brought on by his radiation treatment.[24] Lemieux returned for the 1995–96 season and on October 26, 1995, against the New York Islanders, he scored his 500th career goal in his 605th game. Lemieux reached 500 goals at the second fastest rate. Only Gretzky achieved the plateau faster scoring 500 goals in 575 games.[24] Lemieux finished the season with 69 goals and 92 assists to lead the league and then became the seventh player to win three Hart Trophies and the fourth player to win five Art Ross Trophies.[24] Despite his return, the Penguins fell to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final in seven games.
The next season, Lemieux, playing against the Vancouver Canucks, scored his 600th career goal in his 719th game, and went on to put up his tenth career 100-point season, both the second-most in history after Wayne Gretzky's 600 goals in 718 games and fifteen 100-point seasons.[24] In his last game against his hometown Montreal, Lemieux tied an NHL record for most goals in a period, with four goals in the third.[35] Lemieux won his sixth scoring title with 122 points (50 goals, 72 assists). On April 6, 1997, Lemieux announced that he planned to retire following the playoffs. The Penguins were eliminated in five games by the Eric Lindros-led Philadelphia Flyers during the first round. Lemieux scored one goal and earned an assist in his final game. Despite the typically hostile Philadelphia crowd, Lemieux skated around the ice following the final horn and received a standing ovation.[24] Upon his first retirement, Lemieux became the only player to retire from the NHL with a greater than 2 points per game average (1494 points in 745 games). On November 17, 1997, Lemieux was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, becoming the ninth player in history to have the mandatory three-year waiting period waived.
1997–2000: Post-retirement
The Penguins' free-spending ways of the early 1990s came at a high price. Through most of the 1990s, Penguins' owners Howard Baldwin and Morris Belzberg mismanaged the team, owing over $90 million to various creditors. As a consequence, the Penguins asked Lemieux and other prominent players to defer their salaries. The team was also forced to make several trades to stop the bleeding, most of which backfired.
The situation became so dire that the Penguins were forced to declare bankruptcy in November 1998. For most of the
Lemieux's plan was designed to pay everyone the organization owed. In fact, the bankruptcy court approved his bid in part because of the prospect that the debt would be fully retired—a rare feat, considering that unsecured creditors typically get only pennies on the dollar. In his first season as principal owner Pittsburgh went from a loss of $16 million from the previous season into a small profit of $47,000.[36] Ticket sales increased after Lemieux's takeover and even more after his comeback in 2000, also improving team finances.[36] In August 2005, the Post-Gazette reported that the Penguins had indeed fully paid the principal it owed to each of its creditors, both secured and unsecured. Lemieux was given much of the credit, according to the article, for his insistence that everyone owed be paid.[37] He later relinquished the president's and CEO's posts to Ken Sawyer, but remained chairman and principal owner. In January 2006, Lemieux confirmed the team was for sale, but would consider offers only from those who would keep the team in Pittsburgh.
2000–2006: Out of retirement
Late in 2000, there were rumours that Lemieux was attempting a comeback. Upon announcing his comeback, Lemieux also signed a "career spanning deal" with Nike to wear their equipment on the ice, and to endorse their products off the ice. This deal would include Lemieux endorsing their line of footwear and their golf equipment. It is said that the deal was worth $500,000 (US) a season and would remain in effect for the rest of his career.[39] At the press conference confirming his return, Lemieux indicated part of his reason was that his only son Austin, then four, wanted to see his father play.[36]
On December 27, 2000, he returned to the NHL against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The game was nationally broadcast on ESPN2 in the US and on Hockey Night in Canada. Lemieux proved that his scoring touch had not disappeared by scoring a goal and three points, including an assist 33 seconds into the first shift of his return.[36] While Jaromír Jágr remained captain of the Penguins, Lemieux was named captain of the North American All-Stars during the midseason All-Star game in Denver, Colorado. Despite playing in only 43 games in 2000–01, Lemieux scored 76 points to finish 26th in scoring, finishing the season with the highest points-per-game average that season among NHL players. In fact, he had the highest points-per-game average amongst NHL players for the entire period from his 2000–01 return until his final retirement in 2005–06. Lemieux was one of the three finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lester B. Pearson NHLPA awards and earned a selection on the postseason NHL All-Star second team.
Lemieux led the Penguins in the postseason and led in playoff scoring for much of it. His team surprised many by going to the Eastern Conference finals, knocking off the higher-seeded Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres along the way in six and seven games, respectively. The Penguins lost in five games to the top-seeded New Jersey Devils, as their players held Lemieux and Jágr without a goal that series. Lemieux finished Game Five in the penalty box after slashing the Devils' John Madden; afterwards Lemieux signed his stick and handed it to a young fan.[40]
Before the start of the 2001–02 season, Pittsburgh was forced to trade most of their expensive players, so the team plummeted to the bottom of the NHL and missed the playoffs in each of the next four seasons. Lemieux again resumed the captaincy, as Jaromír Jágr was sent to the Washington Capitals. However, Lemieux only appeared in 24 games, partially due to injuries that would also plague him for the next three seasons. He also skipped some Penguins games in 2001–02 so he could be in condition to play what would be his only chance at the Olympics in his career. However, Lemieux played only one more game after the Salt Lake City Olympics before being out for the rest of the season due to a nagging hip problem, leading one Pittsburgh columnist to demand that Lemieux apologize for making Team Canada his priority.[41]
Radio show host
In 2002–03, at the age of 37, Lemieux led the NHL in scoring for most of the season but missed most of the games towards the end of the schedule and finished eighth in scoring with 91 points in only 67 games. Lemieux missed all but ten games during the 2003–04 season.
After the lock-out concluded, Lemieux returned to the ice for the 2005–06 season. Hopes for the Penguins were high due to the salary cap and revenue sharing, which enabled the team to compete in the market for several star players. Another reason for optimism was the Penguins winning the lottery for the first draft pick, enabling them to select Sidney Crosby. Lemieux opened up his home to Crosby to help the rookie settle in Pittsburgh, and served as Crosby's mentor.[43]
Player/owner status
Lemieux's unique status as player and owner placed him in a potential
Post-playing career
On January 24, 2006, Lemieux announced his second and permanent retirement from professional hockey at the age of 40. This followed a half-season in which he struggled not only with the increased speed of the "new NHL" but also with atrial fibrillation, which caused him to experience irregular heartbeats. Although he had put up points at a pace that most NHL forwards would be very content with (22 points in 26 games) in his last season, Lemieux still remarked that "I can no longer play at a level I was accustomed to in the past."[46]
In October 2006, Lemieux's ownership group announced that it had reached an agreement to sell the Penguins to
On March 13, 2007, Lemieux's ownership group announced a final agreement for a new multi-purpose arena, eventually to be named
The Penguins returned to the playoffs, losing in five games to the Ottawa Senators in 2007, and making the Finals in 2008 where they lost in six games to the Detroit Red Wings. On June 12, 2009, Lemieux won his third Stanley Cup title, this time as an owner as the Penguins won a rematch with the Red Wings in the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, in seven games.[51] In 2015, Lemieux and Ron Burkle hired Morgan Stanley to explore the possibility of selling the Penguins. On June 12, 2016, the Penguins defeated the San Jose Sharks in the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals, in six games, to give Lemieux his fourth Stanley Cup, his second as an owner.[52] Almost exactly a year later, on June 11, 2017, Lemieux won his third Stanley Cup as an owner upon the Penguins six-game defeat of the Nashville Predators.
International play
Lemieux played for
At the
He would then play in his final international event, once again captaining Team Canada to victory in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, where he'd be Team Canada's fourth leading scorer, despite being 38 years old, having injuries, and playing in just 10 NHL games that year. Lemieux was also selected by team Canada for the 2006 Winter Olympics, but declined due to health.[53]
Personal life
Early in his career, Lemieux smoked, at one point consuming a pack of
Lemieux married Nathalie Asselin on June 26, 1993. They have four children: Lauren (born April 1993),
Lemieux has opened his home to young Penguins stars such as
On June 17, 2009, Lemieux was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec (CQ) by then Quebec Premier Jean Charest.[64]
In the 2010 Canadian honours, Lemieux was made an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC) from then Governor General Michaëlle Jean.[65][66]
Lemieux has been criticized for his involvement in multiple sexual assault scandals.
Charitable causes
In 1993, the same year he was diagnosed with
With their son, Austin, being born prematurely in 1996, the Lemieux family spent quite a bit of time in the hospital with Austin, including 71 days after his birth.[36] The family found that the older children didn't have a place to play in the hospital. Using the Lemieux Foundation resources, driven by Nathalie's idea and vision, founded a program called "Austin's Playroom Project".[71] The project builds play rooms in various hospitals across the US to give both children who are patients and their healthy siblings a place to play and "be kids" and concentrate on being normal and healing. On January 31, 2014, the foundation announced the opening of the twenty-ninth Austin's Playroom at the new Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, Camp Pendleton, California.[72]
Legacy
A statue in his honour, created by sculptor
In 1992, local confectioner D. L. Clark Company produced a Mario Bar, modelled on the caramel Bun Bar, featuring his image on the packaging and including collectors' trading cards.[75][76]
NHL records
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (December 2022) |
- Shorthanded goals, season (13 in 1988–89)
- Most power-play points in a single season: (80)
- Highest empty-net goal game ratio (1 in every 27.7 games)
- Highest empty-net goal average career among players with 400+ goals: (5%)
- Only NHL player to ever score 5 goals 5 different ways in one game (even-strength, PP, PK, penalty shot and empty net)
- Highest career goals per game average in playoffs: (.710)
- Most points in a single all star game: (6)
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (December 2022) |
- Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky occupy all of the top ten places in the NHL records for points and assists in a season.
- Most goals in a period: (4) Shares record with 13 others, most recently Tage Thompson (December 7, 2022)
- One of only two players to score 10 or more shorthanded-goals in two different seasons; the other is Wayne Gretzky.
All-Star Game
- Career goals (13, shares record with Wayne Gretzky)
- Goals in a single-game (4 in 1990, shares record with Wayne Gretzky and Dany Heatley)
- MVP awards (3, shares record with Wayne Gretzky)
Playoffs
- Goals in a single period (4, shares record with Tim Kerr)
- Goals in a single game (5, shares record with Rocket Richard, Darryl Sittler, Reggie Leach)
- Points in a single period (4, shares record with Tim Kerr)
- Points in a single game (8, shares record with Patrick Sundstrom)
Pittsburgh Penguins records
- Goals, career (690)
- Assists, career (1033)
- Points, career (1723)
- Longest goal-scoring streak (12 games)
- Longest point streak (46 games)
- Goals, season (85 in 1988–89)
- Assists, season (114 in 1988–89)
- Points, season (199 in 1988–89)
- Goals, game (5, four occasions including playoffs)
- Assists, game (6, three occasions, shares record)
- Points, game (8, three occasions including playoffs)
Career statistics
Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
Regular season and playoffs
Bold indicates led league
Regular season
|
Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1980–81 | Montreal-Concordia | QMAAA | 47 | 62 | 62 | 124 | 127 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | ||
1981–82 | Laval Voisins
|
QMJHL
|
64 | 30 | 66 | 96 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1982–83 | Laval Voisins | QMJHL | 66 | 84 | 100 | 184 | 76 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 18 | ||
1983–84 | Laval Voisins | QMJHL | 70 | 133 | 149 | 282 | 97 | 14 | 29 | 23 | 52 | 29 | ||
1983–84 | Laval Voisins | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
1984–85 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 73 | 43 | 57 | 100 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1985–86 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 79 | 48 | 93 | 141 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1986–87 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 63 | 54 | 53 | 107 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1987–88 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 77 | 70 | 98 | 168 | 92 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1988–89 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 76 | 85 | 114 | 199 | 100 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 16 | ||
1989–90 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 59 | 45 | 78 | 123 | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1990–91 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 26 | 19 | 26 | 45 | 30 | 23 | 16 | 28 | 44 | 16 | ||
1991–92 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 64 | 44 | 87 | 131 | 94 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 2 | ||
1992–93 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 60 | 69 | 91 | 160 | 38 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 10 | ||
1993–94 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 22 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 32 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | ||
1995–96 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 70 | 69 | 92 | 161 | 54 | 18 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 33 | ||
1996–97 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 76 | 50 | 72 | 122 | 65 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | ||
2000–01 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 43 | 35 | 41 | 76 | 18 | 18 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 4 | ||
2001–02 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 24 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2002–03 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 67 | 28 | 63 | 91 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2003–04 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 10 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2005–06 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 26 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
NHL totals | 915 | 690 | 1,033 | 1,723 | 834 | 107 | 76 | 96 | 172 | 87 |
International
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Representing Canada | ||
Men's Ice hockey | ||
World Cup | ||
2004 World Cup | ||
Olympic Games | ||
2002 Salt Lake City | ||
Canada Cup
| ||
1987 Canada | ||
World Championships | ||
1985 Czechoslovakia |
||
World Junior Championships
| ||
1983 Soviet Union |
Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1983 | Canada | WJC | 7 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 12 | |
1985
|
Canada | WC | 9 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 2 | |
1987 | Canada | CC | 9 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 8 | |
2002 | Canada | OLY | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | |
2004 | Canada | WCH | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | |
Junior totals | 7 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 12 | |||
Senior totals | 29 | 18 | 21 | 39 | 12 |
NHL All-Star Games
Year | Location | G | A | P |
---|---|---|---|---|
1985 | Calgary | 2 | 1 | 3 |
1986 | Hartford | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1988 | St. Louis | 3 | 3 | 6 |
1989 | Edmonton | 0 | 1 | 1 |
1990 | Pittsburgh | 4 | 0 | 4 |
1992 | Philadelphia | 0 | 1 | 1 |
1996
|
Boston | 0 | 2 | 2 |
1997
|
San Jose | 2 | 1 | 3 |
2001
|
Denver | 1 | 1 | 2 |
2002
|
Los Angeles | 1 | 0 | 1 |
10 All-Star Games | 13 | 10 | 23 |
Awards
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (December 2022) |
NHL
Award | Year |
---|---|
Hockey Hall of Fame | 1997 |
Stanley Cup | 1991, 1992, *2009, *2016, *2017 |
Conn Smythe Trophy | 1991, 1992 |
Art Ross Trophy | 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 |
Ted Lindsay Award | 1986, 1988, 1993, 1996 |
Hart Memorial Trophy | 1988, 1993, 1996 |
NHL All-Star Game MVP | 1990
|
NHL All-Star Game
|
1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003 |
NHL first All-Star team | 1988, 1989, 1993, 1996, 1997 |
NHL second All-Star team | 1986, 1987, 1992, 2001 |
NHL All-Rookie team
|
1985 |
Calder Memorial Trophy | 1985 |
NHL Plus/Minus Award
|
1993 |
Lester Patrick Trophy | 2000
|
Bill Masterton Trophy
|
1993 |
* Stanley cup champion as an owner.
International
Award | Year |
---|---|
Canada Cup | 1987 |
Winter Olympic Games
|
2002 |
World Cup of Hockey | 2004 |
IIHF Hall of Fame | 2008[77] |
Other awards
- Order of Canada 2009– he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his contributions as one of hockey's most gifted players, as an inspirational role model and mentor, and for supporting charitable initiatives through the Mario Lemieux Foundation".[78]
- National Order of Quebec 2009
- Canada's Walk of Fame 2004
- Order of Hockey in Canada recipient 2016
- In 1998, he was ranked number 4 on French Canadianplayer, as well as the highest-ranking who had played his entire career for a single team.
- 3× Chrysler-Dodge/NHL Performer of the Year – 1985, 1986, 1987
- 2× Dapper Dan Athlete of The Year – 1986, 1989
- CHL Player of the Year – 1984
- ESPN Hockey Player of the Decade – 2000
- 3× ESPY Award NHL Player of the Year – 1993, 1994, 1998
- Lou Marsh Trophy– 1993
- His #66 has been retired by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Team Canada, and Laval Titan.
- Named to the IIHF All-Time Canada Team in 2020.
Cultural references
- Lemieux had a hockey NHL seriesfor multiple platforms.
- Lemieux was mentioned in the hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest's track "Keep It Rollin'", which was released on the group's third studio album "Midnight Marauders".[80] On the track, rapper Phife Dawgsings: "I skate on your crew, like Mario Lemieux."
- Canadian hardcore band Comeback Kid are named after a newspaper article which nicknamed Mario Lemieux 'the comeback kid'.[81]
- Lemieux appears in NHL 12, 13, 14, and 15 in the game's 'Be A Legend' mode. As well as being a part of the Penguins Alumni team in newer games.[82]
- Many school kids are taught quotation marks as "Lemieuxs and Gretzkeys" due to the numbers 66 and 99 looking like handwritten quotation marks.[83]
Celebrity golf
Lemieux has competed at the American Century Championship, an annual competition to determine the best golfers among American sports and entertainment celebrities. He won the
See also
- 50 goals in 50 games
- List of NHL players with 500 goals
- List of NHL players with 1,000 assists
- List of NHL statistical leaders
- List of select cases of Hodgkin's Disease
- Notable families in the NHL
Further reading
- Stewart, Mark (2002). Mario Lemieux: own the ice. Millbrook Press. ISBN 0-7613-2555-7.
- O'Shei, Tim (2002). Mario Lemieux. Chelsea House Publishers. ISBN 0-7910-6307-0.
Mario Lemieux.
References
- ^ "Mario Lemieux". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on June 30, 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
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External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Player profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
- Digital Archives – Becoming magnificent Interview with a young Mario Lemieux
- Mario Lemieux at Team Canada
- Mario Lemieux at Olympics.com
- Mario Lemieux at Olympic.org (archived)
- Mario Lemieux at Olympedia
- Mario Lemieux at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)