I’m sure most sports fans have heard the news by now. Mario Lemieux is making a comeback with the Penguins. He came back from back trouble. Cancer (Hodgkins disease). Not even retirement can keep him from playing, it seems.
Mario at 80% could lead the league in scoring, only playing half the year. He’s that good. If he pulls this off, that is becoming once again a force in the NHL, his name will become legend. Not that it isn’t already!
One of my friends and me often like to speculate fantastic scenarios for our sports teams. When the Pirates were in trouble and might have left, we speculated that Dennis Miller, Jeff Goldblum, Charles Grodin, Michael Keaton and all big rich Pittsburgh born celebreties would all pitch in and buy the Pirates, thus saving the team. Didn’t happen, but it would have been cool.
When the Pens filed for bankruptcy, we came up with this scenario: Mario buys the Pens using the equity of the money owed to him, Mario comes back to play, Pens win a couple more Stanley Cups. This plan is well on its way.
Any Hockey fans? What effect do you think this will have on Hockey? Of course ticket sales for Penguins games, home and away, will go through the roof. Is this good for hockey to have an owner/player? Has a similar situation existed before (On Sportsbeat, they mentioned 2 Hall of Famers who also played after induction)?
Now all we need is for Dan Marino to decide that he wants to play football in Pittsburgh once again. I’m also still holding out hope that Clemente will move back into right field . . .
When Mario retired, I said it would last about three years and he’d make a comeback. Nice to see my prophesy fulfilled.
It will be great for the NHL and great for Pittsburg if he does infact come back. I’m hoping that he does.
Now, to burst your bubble. The Pens are not going to win the Stanley Cup anytime soon, with or without Mario. Granted, any team with Jagr and Mario are going to fill the net, but the problem would be in their own end. The Pens have no defence to speak of, and their goaltending is shakey at best. Say that the Pens make it to the conference finals, do you honestly think that they could get past the Devils? And they would stand a chance against the Stars, Blues or Avs.
I gotta agree with ya, Adam. Their goaltending is suspect, and they’re going to need a playoff-caliber goalie to get through the East. I think that if they reach the finals, Lemieux will be too beat to do anything. Having said that, it’ll be awesome to see Jagr and Lemieux on the ice together again. The one thing that bothers me about all of this is if Mario takes one too many forearm slashes or cross-checks to the back, is he going to take his ball and go home again?
I am not a big hockey fan, but Super Mario is one of my idols. I was devastated when he retired–as I was when Barry Sanders did the same–and haven’t followed much hockey since. I am an Avs fan now, but as soon as Mario puts the skates on I am back to rooting for the Pens.
From what I have read, his skating abilities and puck-handling skills are still there. His vast experience and on-the-ice smarts will prove to be an invaluable asset. I expect him to regain must of his conditioning by the time the playoffs roll by. He should have a very positive impact not only the team but on the NHL as a whole.
And it is not like he is a stranger to successful comebacks. After returning from Hodgkin’s treatment he ruled the league by scoring an astonishing 56 points in only 20 games. After his one-year sabbatical, he won the Art Ross Trophy with 161 points, scored in only 70 games. So yeah, the guy has proven that he can pretty much comeback from the most strenuous of circumstances and proceed to immediately kick some hockey ass. I wouldn’t be surprised if he decided to top David Blaine by immersing himself in a block of ice for 3 days, and then suit up for the Pens the next day and get a hat trick.
I am not sufficiently informed to venture an educated guess as to how well the Pens could play with him, but if there defense and goaltending are as suspect as adam yax manifested, it will prove mighty difficult for them to advance very far in the postseason. Then again, Mario is the kind of player that makes his teammates better, his will to win is insatiable, and besides, I don’t think he would come back If he didn’t truly believe that they have a decent shot at taking home Lord Stanley’s cup.
In any case, if they manage to get to the finals, Lemieux has the ability to carry the team by himself and hand Pittsburgh a third championship. He is one of those Michael Jordan, Joe Montana types; a guy who can decide a game all by himself.
LateComer said:
Aren’t you exaggerating just a tad? At his best, in 92-93, Mario averaged 2.67 points a game. Playing half a season at 80% capacity would result in 87 points. Possibly good enough to crack the Top 10, but not to lead the league. But then again, this is Lemieux (literally, The Best) we are talking about, so who knows? You might be right after all.
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This is a great thing for Pro Hockey. Of course Mario will have to take a much less active role in team affairs. How much will he pay himself? Will he hold out for a better contract? Who do they cut to make room for him? Some interesting dilemmas and scenarios could arise from this.
I think the Pen’s and Mario’s success will have a lot to do with how the rules are enforced during the playoffs. The league has done a good job removing a lot of the hooking, clutching, and grabbing this year. Will they continue to enforce this through the playoffs, or will it revert to “hockey as usual”. Hopefully Mario’s return will be incentive for the league to “open things up” even further. If you want to pack the stands, you have to give the skilled guys room to do their thing. A 2-1 hockey game can be exciting and a nail biter in the playoffs, but regular season it’s like sitting through a soccer match.
It’s good for the Pens, it’s good for the NHL, and it’s good for Mario.
It remains to be seen if he launches the Pens past the first round of the playoff… but players of Mario’s calibre make everyone else on the team 10% better.
My question is…
when will Yahoo add him to the available players list for my fantasy league?
I have this vision…the Pens are playing an opponent with a pissed off defenseman who considers himself seriously underpaid…and there’s an ownerwith his back to the ice trying to dig a puck out from the boards…SPLAT!
I also wonder about who’s the dog and who’s the tail when it comes to authority–I’ll bet Ivan Hlinka is wondering what the hell he’s gotten himself into right about now, especially since I understand nobody mentioned this to him beforehand (though apparently Jagr knew). There’s the potential for serious trouble here. But I’m a Pens fan, so I hope it all works out.
Not any more, he’s not. No way he leads the league in scoring, playing half the year. Right now, there are about a dozen skaters with 33 points or more (one has 40+). No way Lemieux catches and passes all of them in half a year. And, though I imagine he’s keeping himself in decent shape, I rather doubt he’d step right back onto the ice and be his old self just like that. He needs to get his timing back, for one thing–adjust to his teammates for another.
I do believe that Lemieux can help the Pens, though, as other posters have said, this would NOT catapult them into being the favorite for the Stanley Cup–for one thing, the Penguins aren’t as good as they were when Mario was at his peak, and back then, it’s not like they won the Stanley Cup every year.
Could they be a contender in the playoffs with him? I might buy that.
