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Mario Lemieux is Born
Mario Lemieux was born in Montreal on October 5 1965. He grew up near the Forum, which was where the Canadiens played ("Mario Lemieux"). He was number 66 which was chosen as a marketing stratgy to mirror Wayne Gretzky's number (Dupont). In his career he obtained two Stanley Cups which were well deserved and he proudly held them over his head (Lapointe). The documentary "Mario Lemieux 66 The Road of a Legend" tells the story of how Lemieux came to be the greatest hockey player of all time. -
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Childhood and Juniors
At the age of 3 Lemieux began skating and he was said to be a natural. (Furlong). At the age of six he began playing with a group of 10 year olds. To be playing with older boys at such a young age foreshadowed his future success. At the age of 15 he went to an evaluation camp in Montreal prior to playing juniors. The people evaluating him said that he did everything wrong, but just three years later he was voted the best junior player (Dupont). -
Juniors Cont.
He played with Laval of the Quebec League and in his playing career he had 247 goals and 315 assists (Milbert). His success in juniors would lead to much more successful NHL career. -
Draft and Early Playing Career
On June 10 1984 Lemieux was drafted the number one pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins (Milbert). His contract was about $700,000 (Furlong). Which in that time period was a lot for a starting contract. Lemieux did not walk to shake hands with the managaer nor did he put on the sweater. This was due to his agent telling him it would not be s good idea to meet with team officials (Milbert). -
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Early Playing Career Cont.
In his first NHL shift Lemieux scored a goal. Everyone knew that Lemieux would do great things and that first goal jumpstarted his popularity. In 1987 duing the Canada Cup Lemieux scored the winning goal with an assist from Gretzky, with 1:26 left to help Canada edge out the Soviet Union with a final score of 6-5. In the late 80's Lemieux had to be hospitalized due to stress factures in his back. -
Early Playing Career Cont.
He was out for months, but when he came back he helped the Penguins win their first divison title and eventually the Stanley Cup (Furlong). Even with multiple injuries the once horrible Penguins were now victorious thanks to Lemieux. -
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NHL career
Lemieux was diagnosed with Hodgkins disease in 1992 and was out for three months to get treatment ("Mario Lemieux") Immediately after treatment he returned to playing. Later that year Lemieux broke his hand, but still returned to help the Penguins secure a second Stanley Cup (Furlong). He transformed the worst team in the league to back to back Stanley Cup Champions. He also managed to win the league scoring title even after missing 6 weeks (Furlong). -
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NHL career cont.
Due to a back injury in 1994 he missed the entire season, but in 1996 Lemieux was back and scored 161 points and was named MVP (Furlong). Clearly Lemieux was a fan favorite even when he missed many games the fans still voted him as MVP. -
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Retirement
In 1997 Lemieux announced his retirement at the age of 31 (Furlong). He scored on his last shift meaning he was one of the few players who have scored on their first and last shift. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and the number 66 was retired ("Mario Lemieux"). Lemieux was known as one of the greatest hockey players of all time and the first Penguin to have his number retired. -
Retirement Cont.
On December 27 2000 after being the CEO of the Penguins, Lemieux announced he was going to play again (Furlong). -
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Retirement Cont.
Lemieux played professionaly in three different decades. The game of hockey has changed so much since the 80s, but even with health problems he was able to keep up. In 2002 he helped lead Canada to victory in the Olympic games ("Mario Lemieux"). After that many injuries caused his career to be shortened, in 2006 he formally announced his retirement due to intensive heart problems (Furlong). -
Mario Passes on the Legacy
On this day the infamous Sidney Crosby was drafted. Lemieux was important in this decision and he welcomed Crosby to the Pittsburgh Penguins (Furlong). Crosby is another elitle player just like Lemieux and some say that he is on track to be just as exceptional as Lemieux. Lemieux has some accomplishments that probably will never be beat espically one of his most famous moments, which was when he scored five goals five ways. This is probably the number one thing that sets Mario Lemieux apart from -
Mario Passes on the Legacy Cont.
from the other elite players (Rotheram). Mario Lemieux's legacy will live on forever.
