The members of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, along with just about everyone associated with the National Hockey League, are smiling again. The NHL experienced a full-fledged renaissance on December 27th, with the return of Mario Lemieux.
The NHL, much like the post-Jordan NBA, had been struggling to find that special superstar capable of selling the entire league; the search is over. Lemieux may be just a temporary fix for professional hockey - perhaps a step into the past - but there is no denying the fact that Lemieux has brought hockey back into the headlines.
On December 27th, Mario Lemieux returned to the ice and scored three points in leading the Penguins to a victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The game captured the highest television rating for a regular season hockey game in years. Since his all-star return, all nationally televised Penguin games have received ratings unheard of for any team during the part of the season prior to Lemieux's comeback. The ratings for non-Penguin games are also up. The December 27th game was also a sellout in Pittsburgh, the first in quite some time. Super Mario has played in 14 games since his return, and all 14 have been sellouts. Lemieux is just what the league so desperately needed, but when it comes down to success on the ice, it is his Penguin teammates who are benefiting the most.
The Penguins are 9-4-0-1 (7-1at home) since Lemieux's return, and have won their last three in a row. The 6-4, 220 pound, 35 year old claims he is only 70-80 percent of what he will be once he gets into better shape. That said, Lemieux has 14 goals and 14 assists in 14 games. This 2:1 point-to-game ratio, while over a limited time period, is by far the best in the NHL. Perhaps more important for the Penguins is the fact that their other superstar, Jaromir Jagr, is again skating like one of the top two or three offensive players in the league.
Jagr, the man the NHL had hoped would take Lemieux's place at the top of the sport, was contemplating retirement before Lemieux's return. With more open ice as a result of defenders focusing on Lemieux, Jagr has shown new life and is currently on a nine-game scoring streak. The third All-Star on the team, Alexei Kovalev, has also improved since Lemieux's return, scoring 20 points in his last 15 games.
Despite the awesome offensive potential in Pittsburgh, Penguins GM Craig Patrick has had to add some muscle to the lineup. The Penguins cruised to easy wins in Lemieux's first games back, and were looking almost unbeatable until Lemieux's aura wore off and opposing teams started to hit him - hard. The Penguins had to lose a few games before they realized that they needed some size in their lineup to protect their superstar.
Patrick traded for 6'8" center Steve McKenna and enforcer Krzysztof Oliwa, and called up rookie tough man Billy Tibbetts. This change in personnel seems to have been accompanied by a change in the team's attitude. In Saturday's 5-1 win over Carolina, the two teams drew a total of eleven fighting penalties. Mario will be hit a lot less and should score more with these enforcers at his side. The addition of 35 year-old Kevin Stevens to the Jagr-Lemieux line should also enhance Lemieux's skating. Stevens, left for dead in Philadelphia, was a sensational All Star for the 1991 and 1992 Stanely Cup Champion Penguins.
Mario Lemieux scored 613 goals and 881 assists in 745 games for the Penguins between 1984-97. He was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame in 1997. Upon retiring, Lemieux was owed over 26 million dollars in deferred payments by the Penguins, who were in debt upwards of 100 million dollars. Lemieux gathered investors from around the Pittsburgh area and created an equity stake for most of what he was owed in order to buy the Penguins. He saved the Pittsburgh franchise. After 44 months in retirement, Lemieux said he wanted to come back and regain the title of the best player in the world. He has already been named to next Sunday's All-Star team, recorded the 40th hat-trick of his career, and brought renewed interest in the NHL throughout the world. The only question remaining is whether or not this icon, this savior of hockey, can win another Cup.
