Pittsburgh Penguins icon Mario Lemieux initially retired from the NHL in 1997, but three years later, he shocked the hockey world by announcing his return to on-ice action. THN's cover story from 2000 examined Lemieux's reasons for his comeback and the impact it had on his Pens teammates and the industry in general.

Twenty-three years ago, the hockey world got a massive and welcome shock when Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Mario Lemieux came out of retirement. 

In this cover story from THN’s December 22, 2000 edition (Vol. 54 Issue 16), Lemieux’s incredible comeback was brought into full focus.

(And here’s your daily reminder: for full access to this issue, as well as THN’s exclusive 76-year Archive, you can subscribe to the magazine.)

Lemieux had initially retired after the 1996-97 season, and he was welcomed into the Hockey Hall of Fame in ‘97. However, when he chose to return to action, he was 35 years old and clearly had a lot left in the tank, posting 35 goals and 76 points in just 43 games of the 2000-01 campaign. And THN contributing writer Joe Starkey captured Lemieux’s sentiments regarding his return to hockey’s top league.

“I missed the game and missed the challenge of competing,” Lemieux said in a statement one day after his return was revealed. “I am excited by the challenge of attempting a comeback. I look forward to the chance to get back on the ice with the players.”

By the time he returned, Lemieux had become majority owner of the Penguins, who had fallen on hard financial times and were bailed out of bankruptcy by Lemieux, who went on to play another 170 regular-season games following his return announcement and re-retired in January 2006. 

But Pens players understood they were not only playing alongside their team’s owner – they also got another shot at playing for and with one of the top five NHLers of all time. And that was more than enough motivation to turn the Penguins’ on-ice fortunes around. 

Ultimately, Lemieux rescued NHL hockey in Pittsburgh, and he earned the respect of his on-ice peers and business associates for his achievements.

“I think some guys will play harder, because they’ll see the owner all the time in their lineup,” Pens defenseman Darius Kasparaitis said. “But if Mario comes back, he’s a player. He’s not an owner anymore. And we’re going to treat him as a player and talk to him as a player, because he’s going to be part of the team.”

BACK IN BLACK

Vol. 54, No. 16, Dec. 22, 2000

By Joe Starkey

It was a typically cold winter’s day in Pittsburgh as the citizens trudged off to work. They were oblivious to the pending maelstrom, sort of like Eric Lindros skating through the neutral zone against the New Jersey Devils.

Nobody saw this one coming. Before the office coffee pots were drained, USA Today posted the news on its website Dec. 7. Pittsburgh radio stations quickly snagged it and the following two words blasted the city — not to mention the continent — like a Scott Stevens bodycheck: Mario’s back!

In the spirit of the season, the Penguins’ box office phones lit up like a Christmas tree. TV news teams abandoned their stories and headed to the team’s practice facility. Both daily newspapers kicked the presidential fiasco to the side of Page 1.

Lemieux, the Penguins 35-year-old owner, was going to rejoin the team and potentially play in his first game since April 26, 1997, by the end of December. Speculation was that his target date was Dec. 27 at home against Toronto, the start of a four-game homestand for the Penguins.

To facilitate a comeback, Lemieux is relinquishing his voting rights at NHL board of governors’ meetings, but nothing in the league’s bylaws prevent him from keeping his titles and major duties as the Penguins’ owner and CEO. Preliminary indications were that Lemieux had agreed with the NHL to pay himself a salary of $1.4 million, right around the league average. If he is successful in what is being called an “attempted comeback” this season, he could play as many as two more years. Pens’ GM Craig Patrick said at a Dec. 8 news conference that Lemieux’s return is more than a 60-game proposition — as long as it “works out” — and he believes Lemieux will be the league’s best scorer the moment he steps on the ice.

Amid the frenzy, one question hovered like the Goodyear Blimp: Why? Lemieux seemed content to leave the NHL. Relieved, even. He had, after all, missed 272 regular season games because of injuries or illness — including Hodgkin’s disease — in his 12-year career. He hated the way hockey had turned into “football on skates.” He appeared to be satisfied in his new role as team owner and his ever-expanding role as father to four young children.

A day after the news broke, Lemieux addressed the seminal question by way of a team-prepared news release.

“I missed the game and missed the challenge of competing,” he said. “I am excited by the challenge of attempting a comeback. I look forward to the chance to get back on the ice with the players.” Those words had to be music to the ears of any hockey fan, but plenty was left unsaid. Lemieux wasn’t scheduled to answer questions from the media until three days later, so theories abounded as to what other factors might have played into his decision. Here’s what people were saying:

- Lemieux wants to boost ticket sales and attract investors. The team’s attendance was up by 937 fans per game for an average of 15,223 through 13 home games, but that was well short of capacity (16,958). The night before the news broke, the Penguins had a season-low 13,307 on hand for a 3-2 loss to Boston. The team has sold about 9,400 season ticket packages, more than 1,000 short of Lemieux’s goal. There’s talk of building a new arena within three or four years to replace 39-year-old Mellon Arena, the NHL’s oldest rink. Icing Lemieux makes the Pens much more valuable.

- Lemieux feels he can regain top form in a less restrictive environment. He likes the way the NHL has tried to open up the game since he retired — a season in which he scored 122 points and won the Art Ross Trophy. He especially likes the two-referee system. He commented on this in his prepared statement: “I think commissioner Gary Bettman, Colin Campbell, Andy Van Hellemond and their staff have done a great job of opening up the game.”

- He wants his children to see him play. His only son, Austin, was born just before Lemieux retired.

- He believes the Penguins are very close to having a Stanley Cup-calibre team. One large, skilled center short, perhaps? “I really like our team and think we have a chance to compete for a championship,” Lemieux said.

- He believes his presence will ease the pressure on captain Jaromir Jagr. 

The thought of Jagr, Lemieux and Alexei Kovalev on the power play has to have fans dancing in their living rooms. But Lemieux’s presence will bring up a host of thorny issues, as well.

Having a significant management representative in the dressing room on a daily basis represents uncharted territory. Will players feel comfortable sharing their gripes about, say, a coaching strategy with Lemieux around?

“I think some guys will play harder, because they’ll see the owner all the time in their lineup,” said defenseman Darius Kasparaitis. “But if Mario comes back, he’s a player. He’s not an owner anymore. And we’re going to treat him as a player and talk to him as a player, because he’s going to be part of the team.”

The Hockey News Archive is a vault of 2,640 issues and more than 156,000 articles exclusively for subscribers, chronicling the complete history of The Hockey News from 1947 until today. Visit the archives at THN.com/archive and subscribe today at subscribe.thehockeynews.com