Hockey Biography of Mario Lemieux
A great biography about the hockey legend Mario Lemieux is below.
The biography is catagorized by his NHL playing seasons, to skip to another section, simply click the season that you are
interested in or just scroll below to begin reading the biography (witch spans several pages).
- Early career
- 1985-86 season
- 1986-87 season
- 1987-88 season
- 1988-89 season
- 1989-90 season
- Injury problems
- 1990-91 season
- 1991-92 season
- 1992-93 season
- Injury problems continue
- 1995-96 season
- 1996-97 season
- Retirement and Return
Mario Lemieux (born October 5, 1965 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) was a professional hockey player in the National
Hockey League (NHL) from 1985 to 2004. As one of the greatest players to ever play the game, Lemieux has acquired nicknames such as
"Le Magnifique", "The Magnificent One", and "Super Mario" while his surname literally
means "the best." Due to his skill, size and stature (6 ft 4 in (1.931 m) and 230 lb (104 kg)), many analysts
believe he could be great in any era. Lemieux is also the first active major sports league player in modern times to own a
significant stake of his team. Position: Centre.
Playing career:
Early career
Lemieux was born on October 5, 1965, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the youngest of three sons of Jean-Guy and Pierrette Lemieux.
He first learned to skate in his living room, which his mother would pack with snow to keep the carpet fresh for the springtime.
At an early age, Lemieux was considered a hockey prodigy and at the time Montreal Canadiens head coach, legend Scotty Bowman,
suggested that they purchase the team he was on in order to guarantee first shot at signing the young star.
Lemieux was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft after a much-heralded career in the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Prior to the draft, several teams approached the Penguins in an attempt to acquire the young
superstar. The Quebec Nordiques offered the talented Stastny brothers (Peter, Anton and Marion) in exchange for Lemieux, while
the Minnesota North Stars offered all of their 1984 draft picks. As a testament to his potential greatness, he was given the
number "66", an upside down version of Wayne Gretzky's famous "99". Gretzky had been breaking records for
the previous 5 seasons playing for the Edmonton Oilers. The Penguins had become the laughing stock of the NHL, finishing last
overall in the previous 2 seasons; amid rumors of the team's impending move, the future of the franchise was thrust solely upon
the 18-year-old's shoulders.
In his first NHL game, on his first shift and on first shot, he scored his first goal after he stole the puck from the future
Hall of Fame Boston Bruins defenceman Ray Bourque. He then went on to tally 99 more points during his first season, becoming
only the third NHL rookie at the time to reach the century mark, which garnered him the Calder Memorial Trophy as the national
league's 'rookie of the year'. Earlier that season during the NHL's All-Star Game, Lemieux became the first and only rookie
to be named the All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player (MVP).
1985-86 season
During his sophomore season of 1985-1986, Lemieux recorded 141 points (48 goals, 93 assists)to finish second in league scoring
behind Gretzky's still-standing NHL record of 215 points. That same season, Lemieux won the Lester B. Pearson award as the game's
best player, voted by the National Hockey League's players themselves, ending Gretzky's record run of four consecutive years of
winning the award. The Penguins' overall record improved 27 points thanks to Lemieux's scoring prowess.
1986-87 season
Lemieux missed 17 games due to injury over the course of his next season but still managed to finish third in the NHL scoring
race behind only Edmonton linemates Gretzky (183 points) and Jari Kurri (108 points).
In late summer of 1987, prior to the start of the NHL season, Lemieux teamed with Gretzky to help Canada win the Canada Cup,
which is the predecessor of the World Cup of Hockey. Playing mostly on Gretzky's line, Lemieux led all players in goal scoring
and scored the game winner with little over a minute to play against the Soviet Union in the deciding game of the tournament.
Many, including Lemieux, credit this very series as the turning point in his career and enabling him to finally reach his
potential as an offensive force.
1987-88 season
The following season, 1987-88, saw Lemieux score at a pace reached only by Wayne Gretzky and win his first Art Ross Trophy as the
league's leading scorer. He ended Gretzky's record streak of seven straight scoring titles by finishing with 168 points. At that
time he became only the 4th player to score 70 goals in a season, joining Phil Esposito, Gretzky and Jari Kurri. He also became
the only other player besides Gretzky to average over two points a game for the season, finishing with 168 points in 77 games.
After the season, Lemieux won his first Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP, ending another of Gretzky's record streaks at 8
in a row. Earlier in the season, Mario won his second All-Star Game MVP by scoring a still standing record of 6 points (3 goals,
3 assists) including the game-winner in overtime. However, despite of all of Lemieux's personal achievements, Pittsburgh still
failed to make the playoffs for the sixth straight year.
1988-89 season
The 1988-89 season saw Lemieux set personal highs in goals, assists and points. He easily won the scoring title over Gretzky, despite
missing 4 games to injury, with 199 points to Gretzky's 168. He became only the second player in history to score 80 goals, his 85
ranked third most all-time behind only Gretzky's 92 and 87 and has only been surpassed by Brett Hull's 86 during
1990-91 campaign. He became just the third player to ever dish out 100 assists in a season with his league leading 114 (tied with Gretzky)
and just missed joining only Gretzky as the only players to have recorded 200 points in a season. He also eclipsed Gretzky's
record for shorthanded goals during the season by scoring 13. This season also saw him enter into a pretty exclusive club, the 50
goals in 50 games club. At that time, only Maurice Richard, Mike Bossy, Wayne Gretzky (three times), and Jari Kurri belonged.
Since then, Brett Hull (twice), Cam Neely, and Alexander Mogilny have joined, and Lemieux repeated the feat two more times.
On October 30, 1988, Lemieux was slashed in the neck/chest region by New York Rangers defenseman David Shaw, in a game at Madison
Square Garden. It occured early in the third period. The incident sparked a series of fights and brawls that caused the third
period to drag on for nearly two hours. The game ended with nearly 300 penalty minutes issued between the two teams, included 16
major penalties for fighting. Hockey fight fans still look to this game as being one of the all time classic games for fights and
brawls. Lemieux wound up with a bruised sternum and Shaw received a 12 game suspension.
On December 31, 1988, in a game against New Jersey, Lemieux became the only player in history to score a goal five different
ways by scoring an even strength, power-play, shorthanded and an empty net goal and also managed to add a penalty shot goal as well.
More importantly, Pittsburgh made the playoffs for the first time in 7 seasons and although they eventually lost in the second round,
Lemieux made his mark as a playoff performer. He finished with 12 goals and 17 points in 11 games. On April 25, 1989, facing the
Philadelphia Flyers, Lemieux set or tied several playoff records with his 5 goal, 8 point performance in a 10-7 Pittsburgh win.
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