1984–1988: Early career At the start of Lemieux's career, the Penguins were in financial turmoil and there were rumors of
relocation. The team had declared bankruptcy after the
1974–75 season, and by 1983, they were averaging fewer than 7,000 fans per game—less than half of the Civic Arena's capacity. Later that season, Lemieux played in the
NHL All-Star Game and became the first rookie to be named the All-Star Game's
Most Valuable Player. Despite missing seven games during the season, Lemieux scored 100 points and won the
Calder Memorial Trophy as the rookie of the year.
The next season, Lemieux finished second in league scoring with 141 points, behind
Wayne Gretzky's NHL-record 215 points. He won the
Lester B. Pearson Award as the NHL's best regular-season player as voted by his peers. Lemieux missed 17 games of the
1986–87 NHL season—his point production slipped, and the Penguins once again failed to make the playoffs. However, he played in the
Canada Cup during the summer of 1987 and set a tournament record 11 goals in 9 games; his last goal, which clinched the Canadian victory, broke a tie with the Soviet team with 1:26 remaining in the third period. Lemieux cited his Canada Cup experience as the reason for his elevated play later on, stating, "Remember, I was only 21 years old at the time. To be around guys like Wayne [Gretzky] and Mark Messier and Paul Coffey ... was a tremendous learning experience." By the
1987–88 season,
Wayne Gretzky already won seven consecutive
Art Ross Trophies for leading the league in points. That season, fuelled by his Canada Cup experience, They did, however, have their first winning record in nine years.
1988–1992: 199 points In the
1988–89 season, Lemieux led the league with 114 assists (tied with Gretzky) and 85 goals for 199 points; he is the only player to approach Gretzky's mammoth 200+ point seasons. 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. Buoyed in part by Lemieux's performance, the Penguins made the playoffs for the first time in seven years. Perhaps the defining moment of Lemieux's season was on December 31, 1988, in a game against the
New Jersey Devils. Lemieux had another five-goal, eight-point performance in a 10–7 victory during the postseason against the
Philadelphia Flyers on April 25, 1989. He tied the NHL record for most goals and points in a postseason game, most goals in a postseason period (four in the first), and most assists in a postseason period (three in the second). However, the Penguins lost the series 4–3. During the
1989–90 NHL season, Lemieux scored at least one point in 46 consecutive games before he ended the streak by leaving a game due to injury. The streak's length was second only to Gretzky's 51-game streak. Lemieux won his third All-Star Game MVP with a four-goal performance. Although he missed 21 games, he finished fourth in the league in scoring with 123 points (45 goals, 78 assists). In his absence, the Penguins acquired players
Joe Mullen,
Larry Murphy,
Ron Francis, and
Ulf Samuelsson in hopes of becoming serious contenders for the
Stanley Cup. Despite significant back pain, Lemieux scored 16 goals and 28 assists for the playoff lead, and led the Penguins over the
Minnesota North Stars for their first Stanley Cup.
1992–1997: Cancer, return, and retirement The Penguins started the
1992–93 season well, and Lemieux set a franchise record with at least one goal in twelve consecutive games, from October 6 to November 1. He was on pace to challenge Gretzky's records of 92 goals in one season (1981–82) and 215 points in one season (1985–86), until January 12, 1993, when he announced that he was diagnosed with
Hodgkin lymphoma. He received aggressive radiation treatments which caused him to miss two months of play. When Lemieux returned, he was 12 points behind
Buffalo's
Pat LaFontaine in the scoring race. The Penguins won the President's Trophy, and the team's 119 points are still a franchise record. Lemieux scored at an incredible pace, notching an average 2.67 points per game—the third-highest points-per-game for a season, behind only Wayne Gretzky's 1983–84 and 1985–86 averages of 2.77 and 2.69 points per game, respectively. {{quote box|quote= Notwithstanding Gretzky's abiding majesty, posterity will never forget that no athlete—not even the sainted Lou Gehrig—has ever before 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. And since: Lemieux has achieved miraculously in remission, struggling, on the side, with a back injury so grievous that it has benched him after he merely laced up a skate. That is the stuff that answers people these days when they wonder where all our sports heroes have gone. The Penguins dispatched the
New Jersey Devils in the first round in five games, but were upset by the
New York Islanders in seven. After the season, Lemieux was awarded his second Hart Trophy, as well as the
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, given to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. Lemieux won his sixth scoring title with 122 points (50 goals, 72 assists). On April 6, 1997, Lemieux announced that he planned to retire following the playoffs. The Penguins were eliminated in five games by the
Eric Lindros-led
Philadelphia Flyers during the first round. Lemieux scored one goal and earned an assist in his final game. Despite the typically hostile Philadelphia crowd, Lemieux skated around the ice following the final horn and received a standing ovation. Two days later, after Lemieux cut a deal with
Fox Sports Pittsburgh (the Penguins' TV broadcaster) and
Spectacor Management Group (which operated the Civic Arena), the court gave final approval to Lemieux's reorganization plan, allowing him to formally assume control. He later relinquished the president's and CEO's posts to Ken Sawyer, but remained chairman and principal owner. In January 2006, Lemieux confirmed the team was for sale, but would consider offers only from those who would keep the team in Pittsburgh.
2000–2006: Out of retirement Late in 2000, there were rumours that Lemieux was attempting a comeback. Upon announcing his comeback, Lemieux also signed a "career spanning deal" with Nike to wear their equipment on the ice, and to endorse their products off the ice. This deal would include Lemieux endorsing their line of footwear and their golf equipment. It is said that the deal was worth $500,000 (US) a season and would remain in effect for the rest of his career. At the press conference confirming his return, Lemieux indicated part of his reason was that his only son Austin, then four, wanted to see his father play. While
Jaromír Jágr remained captain of the Penguins, Lemieux was named captain of the North American All-Stars during the midseason All-Star game in
Denver,
Colorado. Despite playing in only 43 games in 2000–01, Lemieux scored 76 points to finish 26th in scoring, finishing the season with the highest points-per-game average that season among NHL players. In fact, he had the highest points-per-game average amongst NHL players for the entire period from his 2000–01 return until his final retirement in 2005–06. Lemieux was one of the three finalists for the
Hart Memorial Trophy and Lester B. Pearson NHLPA awards and earned a selection on the postseason NHL All-Star second team. Lemieux led the Penguins in the postseason and led in playoff scoring for much of it. His team surprised many by going to the Eastern Conference finals, knocking off the higher-seeded
Washington Capitals and
Buffalo Sabres along the way in six and seven games, respectively. The Penguins lost in five games to the top-seeded
New Jersey Devils, as their players held Lemieux and Jágr without a goal that series. Lemieux finished Game Five in the penalty box after slashing the Devils'
John Madden; afterwards Lemieux signed his stick and handed it to a young fan. Before the start of the
2001–02 season, Pittsburgh was forced to trade most of their expensive players, so the team plummeted to the bottom of the NHL and missed the playoffs in each of the next four seasons. Lemieux again resumed the captaincy, as Jaromír Jágr was sent to the
Washington Capitals. However, Lemieux only appeared in 24 games, partially due to injuries that would also plague him for the next three seasons. He also skipped some Penguins games in 2001–02 so he could be in condition to play what would be his only chance at the Olympics in his career. However, 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 Lemieux apologize for making Team Canada his priority. Radio show host
Mark Madden said he would donate $6,600 to the Mario Lemieux Foundation if the hockey great ever scored off a
faceoff. On December 23, 2002, the Penguins played the
Buffalo Sabres in Pittsburgh and Lemieux, who was aware of the challenge, made good on it when he scored the game-winning goal right off a faceoff during the third period. In
2002–03, at the age of 37, Lemieux led the NHL in scoring for most of the season but missed most of the games towards the end of the schedule and finished eighth in scoring with 91 points in only 67 games. Lemieux missed all but ten games during the
2003–04 season. After the lock-out concluded, Lemieux returned to the ice for the 2005–06 season. Hopes for the Penguins were high due to the salary cap and revenue sharing, which enabled the team to compete in the market for several star players. Another reason for optimism was the Penguins winning the lottery for the first draft pick, enabling them to select
Sidney Crosby. Lemieux opened up his home to Crosby to help the rookie settle in Pittsburgh, and served as Crosby's mentor.
Player/owner status Lemieux's unique status as player and owner placed him in a potential
conflict of interest with respect to
NHL labour negotiations. Because he was also an owner, Lemieux was no longer a member of the
National Hockey League Players' Association, although he still paid
union dues to maintain his
pension. By agreement with the NHLPA, Lemieux was paid the average league salary of about
$1.4 million and it was from this amount that his union dues were calculated and deducted. He did not vote in owners' meetings, delegating this role to a Penguins vice-president. He suggested that the NHL adopt a salary structure similar to the
National Football League, which has a hard
salary cap. Lemieux and fellow NHL team executive Gretzky brought the parties together in a last-ditch effort to save what remained of the 2004–05 season, but no agreement was reached and the season was lost. ==Post-playing career==