Mario Lemieux

Who is Mario Lemieux?

Mario Lemieux, OC, CQ is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons with the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006. In 1999, he bought the Penguins and their top minor-league affiliate, the American Hockey League's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, out of bankruptcy, and was the team's principal owner and chairman until the start of the 2021-22 season. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the best players of all time. A gifted playmaker and fast skater despite his large size, Lemieux often beat defencemen with fakes and dekes.

Lemieux led Pittsburgh to two consecutive Stanley Cups as team captain in 1991 and 1992. Under his ownership, the Penguins won a third Cup in 2009. He is the only person to have his name on the Cup as both a player and an owner, and he would go on to repeat the feat twice more as his club earned the Stanley Cup in two consecutive seasons (2016, 2017). While he was still an active player he led Team Canada to an Olympic gold medal in 2002, a championship at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, and a Canada Cup in 1987. Nicknamed "Le Magnifique," he won the Lester B. Pearson Award as the most outstanding player voted by the players four times, the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player (MVP) during the regular season three times, the Art Ross Trophy as the league's points leader six times, and the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP in 1991 and 1992.

In December of 2022 Lemieux sold the ownership of the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise to Fenway Sports Group for some $900 million. Remaining a minority shareholder, Lemieux has stepped away from overseeing daily hockey operations.