As part of THN.com's Olympics Week, we're looking at Canada's 2002 gold-medal performance at the Salt Lake City Winter Games – specifically, the impact made by superstar Mario Lemieux in what would be his one and only Olympics experience.
Vol. 55, No. 25, March 1, 2002At the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games, Team Canada delivered as advertised winning the gold medal for the first time in 50 years. And in this cover story from THN’s March 1, 2002 edition (Volume 55, Issue 25), writer Mike Prisuta profiled hockey icon Mario Lemieux as he prepared to lead Canada to gold.
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After starring for Canada at the 1987 Canada Cup, Lemieux had to leave the game he loved because of his battle with cancer. But when he made his on-ice return in 2000, Lemieux hadn’t lost a step at all, and when it came time to represent his homeland at the 2002 Winter Games, Lemieux stepped up and steered Team Canada to the top of the podium, posting four assists and six points in five games in the tournament. And he welcomed the pressure that came along with the Olympic spotlight.
“We all know the pressure we have here for the next 10 days,” Lemieux told Prisuta prior to the Games. “If you’re not able to play under pressure, maybe you should watch on TV.”
The 2002 Games were Lemieux’s only Olympic appearance before he retired for good in January 2006. But after he had to balance his commitment to Team Canada with his commitment to the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, Lemieux told Prisuta one of the key lessons he’d learned as one of the greatest performers in the history of the sport.
“You can’t please everybody, that’s what I’ve found out in my career,” Lemieux said. “It doesn’t matter what I do, there are always going to be people that are happy and people that are (ticked) off. As long as the people that are close to me know the purpose and agree with my decision, that’s all that matters.”
OLYMPICS WORTH WAIT FOR LEMIEUX
By Mike Prisuta
One by one they returned to the ice from the bowels of Ottawa’s Corel Centre and basked in the glow of an Olympic send-off ceremony that was as enthusiastic as the Senators-Penguins game preceding it had been lackluster. Ten players, Pittsburgh/Team USA GM Craig Patrick and Ottawa coach/Team Canada assistant coach Jacques Martin.
Then came the Big Guy.
Mario Lemieux emerged from the tunnel. He skated over to where the Canadian flag was being presented. He pulled off his Penguins jersey and pulled on a red sweater with a Maple Leaf on the front and “Lemieux 66” on the back.
You’d have thought the ensuing ovation was going to bring down the roof.
At that moment it became crystal clear why these Olympics are so important to Lemieux.
“Everybody’s behind us,” Captain Canada explained a few minutes later. “The whole country’s really looking forward to us being successful. It has been 50 years, so it has been a long time.”
Canada last tasted Olympic gold in hockey in 1952 - far too long ago, according to Lemieux.
By agreeing not just to play for Canada but to captain the team, Lemieux has placed the bulk of the pressure for ending that drought squarely upon his shoulders. He arrived in Salt Lake City to a packed news conference, ready to assume all the hope and hype and responsibility that his position brings.
“We all know the pressure we have here for the next 10 days,” Lemieux said. “If you’re not able to play under pressure, maybe you should watch on TV”
It has been nearly 15 years, since the 1987 Canada Cup, since Lemieux did anything but watch on TV as a Canadian team tested its mettle in an international event.
He is a much changed man since then, a creaky 36-year-old whose commitment to his country seems to have grown even as his ability to dominate has diminished. After three-and-a-half years away from the game, he appreciates the opportunity in front of him, to be front and center on hockey’s biggest stage, like perhaps never before. He wants a gold medal to complete his magnificent legacy.
To pursue one, Lemieux was willing to do anything, even take games off from the Penguins as the Olympics approached. When the Pens traveled to Long Island Jan. 24, the night after they had hosted Tampa Bay, Lemieux didn’t suit up. When they played at Philadelphia Jan, 29, one night before welcoming San Jose, Lemieux wasn’t in the lineup. When they ventured into Madison Square Garden to play the Rangers Feb. 10 after entertaining New Jersey the day before, Lemieux was a healthy scratch.
“As I said before, I’m just trying to get to the Olympics right now,” repeated Lemieux after the Rangers game. “That’s my main focus. And back-to-back games in the past have not been successful for me. I just didn’t want to take a chance; get ready for the Olympics and after that probably play the remainder of the games (the Penguins) have.”
Lemieux’s stance has been unpopular in Pittsburgh, where he has previously enjoyed icon status. He may have won a couple of Stanley Cups for the Penguins and saved the franchise from either relocating or disbanding by buying it out of bankruptcy a few years back - but that was then; this is now.
Lemieux’s decision to make the Olympics and not his NHL team “my priority” under such circumstances was about as well received in and around Mellon Arena as a Flyers fan.
“You can’t please everybody, that’s what I’ve found out in my career,” Lemieux said.
“It doesn’t matter what I do, there are always going to be people that are happy and people that are (ticked) off. As long as the people that are close to me know the purpose and agree with my decision, that’s all that matters.”
That, and winning the gold, regardless of the cost.
He brought his family with him to the Games, saying they could help him deal with what lay ahead.
“We know it’s going to be very, very emotional over the next 10 days and through tough times it’s always good to have your family around you for support,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to it…To bring back a gold medal to Canada would be very special.”
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