Lemieux Is Getting Back in the Business

Mario Lemieux overcame a debilitating back injury and Hodgkin’s disease to become one of the most prolific scorers in NHL history. Shaking off the rust of three years’ retirement should be a breeze.

Lemieux, who led the Pittsburgh Penguins to two Stanley Cup championships and rescued the franchise from bankruptcy a year ago when he became the Penguins’ owner and chief executive officer, will return to the ice within a few weeks, sources close to him said Thursday.

Lemieux, who was voted into hockey’s hall of fame soon after his 1997 retirement--the usual three-year waiting period was waived for him--has been skating and working out for several weeks.

Encouraged by his conditioning, he recently stepped up his workouts in anticipation of rejoining a team that has struggled. The Penguins rank sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 13-10-3-1 record and 30 points, and top scorer Jaromir Jagr has endured uncharacteristic scoring droughts and philosophical differences with Coach Ivan Hlinka.

Lemieux’s return no doubt would also help at the gate. The Penguins through Nov. 27 stood 18th among 30 teams in home attendance with an average of 15,237, about 1,700 below capacity in an arena that is located on Mario Lemieux Place.

“It’s true,” an associate said of Lemieux’s comeback, which the Penguins are expected to confirm at a news conference today. “It’s really something else. He’s been thinking about it for a while and has been skating. He started to train hard, and he’s feeling great.

“He really wants to do this. He knows it’s going to help the franchise, and he wants to help the franchise. He also thinks they have a chance to win the Cup.”

The NHL does not prohibit players from owning all or part of the club that employs them. Lemieux would be obliged only to give up his seat on the league’s board of governors.

The NHL’s policy contrasts with rules established by the NBA, which told Magic Johnson to sell the 5% stake in the Lakers he had purchased in 1994 before he could resume his career. The NFL does not prohibit player-owners and has a precedent for that rare combination in George Halas, who owned and played for the Chicago Bears in the league’s early days. Major League Baseball Rule 20(e) states the commissioner would have to approve a player-owner arrangement but does not prohibit it.

Lemieux must sign a new contract, but it’s likely he would take a minimal salary to avoid inflating his own budget.

The Quebec native would join Gordie Howe and Guy Lafleur in the ranks of players who returned to the ice after being inducted into hockey’s hall of fame. Howe, inducted in 1972, came out of retirement to play in the World Hockey Assn., with sons Mark and Marty. He played his 26th and final NHL season in 1979-80. Lafleur ended a two-year retirement to join the New York Rangers and later the Quebec Nordiques. Neither player approached his previous greatness, but both were older than Lemieux. He turned 35 in October.

A winner of six scoring titles and three most-valuable-player awards, Lemieux scored 613 goals and 1,494 points in 745 games in a career interrupted by back surgery, Hodgkin’s and the chemotherapy that banished the disease. His career average of 2.005 points a game exceeds the 1.921 average compiled by Wayne Gretzky, who is the NHL’s all-time scoring leader and is widely considered the game’s greatest player.

Lemieux has been free of Hodgkin’s for several years but still undergoes periodic checkups. The key questions he faces are whether he can regain sufficient stamina to be an offensive force and whether his back can withstand hard checks and constant twists and turns.

He, however, has previously made several extraordinary comebacks. After being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s in January 1993, he missed 20 games but overtook Pat LaFontaine to win the scoring title. Lemieux also missed all of the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season but returned to win scoring titles in 1996 and ‘97, dominating opponents again with his majestic size, speed and vision. In his final season, he had 50 goals and 122 points in 76 games. That was 13 more points than runner-up Teemu Selanne, five years Lemieux’s junior, scored in 78 games.

Merely 31 when he retired, Lemieux could have prolonged his career. But he had grown weary of obstruction tactics then prevalent, and he criticized the league’s tolerance of the slashing and interfering practiced by marginal players who couldn’t otherwise defend against skill players.

Since then, the NHL has clamped down on obstruction fouls and has been especially vigilant this season about penalizing players who strike opponents’ hands. Both changes favor Lemieux, whose quick hands and passing ability were remarkable.

“The last time, he said, ‘I didn’t come back to be average,’ and that’s the case here,” a friend of Lemieux’s said. “He still believes he can be an elite player.”

Lemieux has certainly shown he merits the benefit of any doubt.

“Why shouldn’t he come back?” said King center Bryan Smolinski, who played with Lemieux for one season in Pittsburgh and skated occasional shifts with him and Jagr.

“Part of the reason he left was the hacking and whacking, and they [league officials] are doing something about it now.”

King left wing Luc Robitaille, who also played with Lemieux in Pittsburgh, believes he will quickly regain his old form.

“I’m sure he’ll dominate,” Robitaille said. “There’s no doubt in my mind. The guy missed a whole year and came back and led the league [in scoring]. . . . We’re all surprised, but it’s great for him and it’s going to be great for the game.”

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Mario Lemieux, Part Deux

When Gordie Howe and Guy Lafleur returned to NHL action after retiring, neither was close to being the player they were before their layoffs. After three seasons of rest, Lemieux is young enough at 35 to inflict a lot of damage upon opposing defenses. Lemieux would be the third player in NHL history to return after being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

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Hall of Famer Years Inducted Teams Season Averages GORDIE HOWE Goals Assists Points Pre-retirement 1946-71 1972 Detroit 31.4 40.9 72.4 Post-retirement 1979-80* Hartford 15 26 41 GUY LAFLEUR Pre-retirement 1971-85 1988 Montreal 37.0 52.0 89.0 Post-retirement 1988-91 Que, NYR 14.0 21.7 35.7 MARIO LEMIEUX Career 1984-97 1997 Pittsburgh 51.1 73.4 124.5

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* Howe played for Houston and New England in WHA from 1973-79. However, those statistics are not recognized by NHL.