Mario Lemieux had a dominating first year as a rookie scoring 100-points (43 goals, 57 assists) for the Pittsburgh Penguins as a 19-year-old center. The Montreal, Quebec native Lemieux earned the Calder Trophy that year as the league’s top rookie, becoming the first Penguins player to win the award.
Lemieux would go on to lead the Penguins to two consecutive Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992. Later under his ownership, the team won a third Cup in 2009. He is the only man to have his name on the Cup as both a player and an owner
The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Lemieux immediately after his first retirement in 1997, waiving the normal three-year waiting period; upon his return in 2000, he became the third Hall of Famer (after Gordie Howe and Guy Lafleur) to play after being inducted. Lemieux’s impact on the NHL has been significant: Andrew Conte of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review called him the “savior” of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and after Lemieux’s retirement, Wayne Gretzky commented that “You don’t replace players like Mario Lemieux. The game will miss him.” Bobby Orr called him “the most talented player I’ve ever seen.”
