This is Lemieux’s NHL draft picture. At age 20 he signed a contract that made him the second highest paid player in hockey. Wayne Gretzky was the first.

In his first pro and shift Mario scored a goal. He was one of the first to do that. It was hard for him though because he was playing with some of the greats.

In 1988 Lemieux won his first scoring title. He had 70 goals and 98 assists for 168 points.
Gretzky came in second with 70 goals and 98 assists to finish 19 points behind Lemieux. He scored 104 points in the first 36 games.

Lemieux did not play in any big games during his first 4 seasons. Then, he played in the Canada cup with Wayne Gretzky. Lemieux said he learned some new skills. He said “Playing alongside Wayne gave me a lot of confidence, and I brought it back to Pittsburgh.

Mario was diagnosed with Hodgkin dieses (or cancer) of the lymphatic system in January of 93. “It spread like a wild-fire,” said the media.

This is the game he returned after retiring in 96. It was 97 the crowd was going crazy. He stayed in the NHL for a while after until 05-06.

Lemieux wearing an old time pens jersey poses for a headshot before his rookie season in 84. Representing black, white, and gold impressed everyone in pre-season.

Lemieux celebrates his first NHL goal. It was scored against the Boston bruins’ goaltender, at the garden. The beginning of the first period, and also his first NHL shift.

#66 faces off against #99. Lemieux and Gretzky have graced the sports ages, and dominated conversations among hockey fans long before Lemieux even started playing they knew him and Gretzky would be the best.

Lemieux may have fought in one of his first games, but he is not much of a fighter anymore as you can see. When he fought he fought Gary Lupul and won. Some players base their whole NHL career on fighting, but no Lemieux. He based his career on scoring He was what people called a “Floater”

This is Mario and Wayne practicing before the Canada cup in 87. Two of the greatest hockey players skating on the same ice. This doesn’t happen too much because they aren’t in the same division.

Mario sits on the back of his truck he won for being named the most valuable player in the 88 all-star game