| Mario Lemieux Chronology |
|---|
| Date |
Career Highlights |
| June 1984 |
Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the No. 1 pick
in the NHL draft. |
| Oct. 11, 1984 |
Made NHL debut at Boston. Scored a goal on his first shot
on his first NHL shift, against Bruins goalie Pete Peeters. |
| 1984-85 |
Won Calder Trophy after becoming only the third rookie in NHL history
to score 100 or more points (43 goals, 57 assists). |
| 1985-86 |
Awarded Lester B. Pearson Award by the NHL Players' Association
to the league's best player. Finished second to Wayne Gretzky
in scoring race with 141 points (48, 93) and Hart Trophy voting. |
| 1986-87 |
Led Penguins in goals (54) and assists (53) despite playing
in only 63 games due to sprained right knee and bronchitis. |
| 1987-88 |
Won Hart Trophy as league MVP, Art Ross Trophy as scoring leader
with 168 points (70, 98), and Pearson Award again. |
| 1988-89 |
Won second straight scoring title with 199 points (85, 114).
Set single-season record with 13 short-handed goals.
Became only second player (Wayne Gretzky)
to score 70 goals in two seasons. |
| 1989-90 |
Finished fourth in league in scoring with 123 points (45, 78)
despite missing 21 games due to herniated back. |
| July 11, 1990 |
Had surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back. |
| 1990-91 |
Missed first 50 games recovering from a rare bone disease
resulting from a surgery-related infection.
Won Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP,
scoring 44 points (16, 28), leading Pittsburgh
to first Stanley Cup championship. |
| 1991-92 |
Won third scoring title with 131 points (44, 87).
Broke left hand when slashed by the Rangers' Adam Graves in Game 2
of Patrick Division finals, but returned after missing only five games.
Won Conn Smythe Trophy again, scoring 34 points (16, 18)
as Pittsburgh won second straight Stanley Cup. |
| January 1993 |
Diagnosed with a Nodular Lymphocytic form of Hodgkin's disease.
Underwent treatment in form of radiation between
Feb. 1 and March 2. |
| 1992-93 |
Played in only 60 games after recovering from Hodgkins' disease.
Won fourth scoring title with 160 points (69, 91).
Won Hart Trophy for second time. Awarded Pearson Award again.
Awarded Masterton Trophy as player who best exemplifies
the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. |
| July 28, 1993 |
Had second back surgery in three years
to repair herniated muscle in back. |
| 1993-94 |
Missed first 10 games recovering from surgery
and a total of 58 games with back problems. |
| Aug. 29, 1994 |
Announced he was taking a medical leave of absence
due to fatigue, an after-effect of his 1993 radiation treatments,
and would sit out 1994-95 season. |
| June 20, 1995 |
Announced he would return for the 1995-96 season. |
| Oct. 26, 1995 |
Scored 500th career goal at New York Islanders in his 605th game,
becoming the second-fastest player (Gretzky - 575th)
to attain the plateau. |
| 1995-96 |
Won third Hart Trophy as MVP, becoming only seventh player
to achieve the feat at least three times.
Became fourth player to win fifth scoring title with 161 points (69, 92).
Led NHL in power-play goals (31), tied for third-highest single-season total
in league history. |
| Feb. 4, 1997 |
Scored 600th career goal vs. Vancouver in his 719th game,
becoming the second-fastest player (Gretzky - 718th) to reach the milestone. |
| 1996-97 |
Won sixth scoring title with 122 points (50, 72).
Recorded 10th career 100-point season, second only to Gretzky's record of 15. |
| April 6, 1997 |
Announced he will retire following the playoffs. |
| April 26, 1997 |
Had a goal and an assist in his final NHL game
as Pittsburgh lost 6-3 to Philadelphia and was eliminated
in the first round of the playoffs in five games. |
| Sept. 3, 1997 |
Lemieux's ownership group officially takes over
Penguins franchise on eve of training camp opening.
Lemieux rolled much of the $26 million-plus owed to him
in deferred payments into an equity stake and acquired
nearly a dozen new investors to buy team that was more than
$100 million in debt. Lemieux becomes first player
in the modern era of sports to buy the team he once played for. |
| Dec. 8, 2000 |
After insisting for four years he would never play again,
Lemieux tells Penguins he plans on comeback at age 35.
He is expected to rejoin the lineup by the end of the month
as the first modern day owner-player in U.S. pro sports. |
| Dec. 27, 2000 |
Lemieux makes his comeback against the Toronto Maple Leafs,
assisting on Pittsburgh first goal. |
| |
