68 Facts About Mario Lemieux

1.

Mario Lemieux is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player.

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2.

Mario Lemieux played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006, and he assumed ownership of the franchise in 1999.

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3.

Mario Lemieux is the only man to have his name on the Cup both as a player and owner.

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4.

Mario Lemieux led Team Canada to an Olympic gold medal in 2002, a championship at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, and a Canada Cup in 1987.

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5.

Mario Lemieux won the Lester B Pearson Award as the most outstanding player voted by the players four times, the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player during the regular season three times, the Art Ross Trophy as the league's points leader six times, and the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP in 1991 and 1992.

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6.

Mario Lemieux is the only player to score one goal in each of the five possible situations in a single NHL game, a feat he accomplished in 1988.

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7.

Mario 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.

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8.

Mario Lemieux retired on two occasions due to these health issues, first in 1997 after battling lymphoma before returning in 2000, and then a second and final time in 2006 after being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.

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9.

Mario Lemieux was on pace for 188 points, but only played in 70 games.

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10.

Mario Lemieux was a finalist for the Hart Trophy when he made his comeback in 2000.

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11.

Mario Lemieux was born in Montreal to Pierrette, a stay-at-home mom, and Jean-Guy Mario Lemieux, an engineer.

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12.

Mario Lemieux 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.

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13.

Mario Lemieux's father created a rink on the front lawn so that the boys could practice as much as possible, 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.

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14.

Mario Lemieux started his career with the Laval Voisins of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League .

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15.

The combination was successful, as Mario Lemieux broke the league record for points in a season with 282 in 70 games.

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16.

Mario Lemieux finished his QMJHL career with 562 points in three seasons.

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17.

Later that season, Mario Lemieux played in the NHL All-Star Game and became the first rookie to be named the All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player.

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18.

Mario Lemieux won the Lester B Pearson Award as the NHL's best regular-season player as voted by his peers.

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19.

That season, fuelled by his Canada Cup experience, Mario Lemieux scored 168 points and won his first NHL scoring title.

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20.

Mario Lemieux 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.

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21.

Mario 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.

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22.

In that game, Mario 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.

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23.

Mario Lemieux tied the NHL record for most goals and points in a postseason game, most goals in a postseason period, and most assists in a postseason period .

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24.

Mario Lemieux won his third All-Star Game MVP with a four-goal performance.

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25.

Mario Lemieux won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player.

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26.

Mario Lemieux skirted the puck through one of the defenders' legs, skated around him, forced the goaltender to commit left, then switched the puck to his backhand side and sliding the puck in before crashing into the net himself.

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27.

The Penguins swept the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals, and Mario Lemieux won the Conn Smythe Trophy for the second consecutive postseason.

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28.

Mario 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.

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29.

Mario Lemieux received aggressive radiation treatments which caused him to miss two months of play.

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30.

When Mario Lemieux returned, he was 12 points behind Buffalo's Pat LaFontaine in the scoring race.

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31.

Mario Lemieux scored at an incredible pace, notching an average 2.

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32.

Mario Lemieux won his second straight and fourth overall scoring title, finishing with 160 points in 60 games, beating out LaFontaine by 12 points despite playing in 24 fewer games.

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33.

Notwithstanding Gretzky's abiding majesty, posterity will never forget that no athlete—not even the sainted Lou Gehrig—has ever before Mario 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.

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34.

Mario Lemieux missed the first ten games of the season to recover from surgery and missed an additional 48 games due to the injury.

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35.

Mario 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.

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36.

Mario Lemieux scored one goal and earned an assist in his final game.

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37.

At this point, Mario Lemieux stepped in with an unusual proposal to buy the team.

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38.

Mario Lemieux proposed to convert $20 million of his deferred salary into equity, with another $5 million in cash, enough to give him controlling interest.

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39.

Two days later, after Mario Lemieux cut a deal with Fox Sports Pittsburgh and Spectacor Management Group, the court gave final approval to Mario Lemieux's reorganization plan, allowing him to formally assume control.

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40.

Mario Lemieux assumed the posts of president, chairman and CEO of the Penguins.

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41.

Mario Lemieux's plan was designed to pay everyone the organization owed.

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42.

Mario Lemieux was given much of the credit, according to the article, for his insistence that everyone owed be paid.

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43.

Mario Lemieux later relinquished the president's and CEO's posts to Ken Sawyer, but remained chairman and principal owner.

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44.

In January 2006, Mario Lemieux confirmed the team was for sale, but would consider offers only from those who would keep the team in Pittsburgh.

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45.

At the press conference confirming his return, Mario Lemieux indicated part of his reason was that his only son Austin, then four, wanted to see his father play.

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46.

Mario 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.

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47.

Mario Lemieux led the Penguins in the postseason and led in playoff scoring for much of it.

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48.

Mario Lemieux finished Game Five in the penalty box after slashing the Devils' John Madden; afterwards Mario Lemieux signed his stick and handed it to a young fan.

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49.

Mario Lemieux again resumed the captaincy, as Jaromir Jagr was sent to the Washington Capitals.

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50.

However, Mario Lemieux only appeared in 24 games, partially due to injuries that would plague him for the next three seasons.

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51.

However, Mario 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 Mario Lemieux apologize for making Team Canada his priority.

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52.

Mario Lemieux opened up his home to Crosby to help the rookie settle in Pittsburgh, and served as Crosby's mentor.

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53.

Mario Lemieux did not vote in owners' meetings, delegating this role to a Penguins vice-president.

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54.

Mario Lemieux suggested that the NHL adopt a salary structure similar to the National Football League, which has a hard salary cap.

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55.

Mario Lemieux was offended that Balsillie had pulled out at last minute and initially refused to return Balsillie's deposit, saying that it was in breach of their agreement.

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56.

Mario Lemieux was instrumental in negotiating this deal, despite outside efforts to move the team to Kansas City.

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57.

Mario Lemieux played for Canada in the 1983 World Junior Championships, 1985 World Championships, 1987 Canada Cup, 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey .

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58.

At the 2002 Winter Olympics, having been selected by Gretzky to captain the roster, the then-36-year-old Mario Lemieux led the Canadian men's team into Salt Lake City, United States.

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59.

Mario Lemieux showcased his amazing hockey intelligence during the gold medal game against the United States.

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60.

Mario Lemieux then faked like he was receiving the pass and proceeded to take a shot at the net, all while letting the puck slide through his legs, knowing he had forward Paul Kariya streaking behind him.

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61.

Mario Lemieux was selected by team Canada for the 2006 Winter Olympics, but declined due to health.

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62.

Youngest of three sons of Jean-Guy and Pierrette Mario Lemieux, he was raised by his stay-at-home mother, and his father, who was a construction worker.

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63.

Early in his career, Mario Lemieux smoked, at one point consuming a pack of cigarettes daily.

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64.

Mario Lemieux had a second home in Quebec near Mont-Tremblant which was built starting in 2009, costs US$20 million, and came to be known as the Chateau Fleur de Lys; he put the house up for sale in 2018.

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65.

Mario Lemieux has opened his home to young Penguins stars such as Marc-Andre Fleury and Sidney Crosby until they settled into the Pittsburgh area, as he did with Jaromir Jagr following the 1990 NHL Draft when he lived in Mt.

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66.

Clark Company produced a Mario Lemieux Bar, modelled on the caramel Bun Bar, featuring his image on the packaging and including collectors' trading cards.

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67.

Mario Lemieux has competed at the American Century Championship, an annual competition to determine the best golfers among American sports and entertainment celebrities.

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68.

Mario Lemieux won the tournament in 1998 and has two top-ten finishes.

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