Mario Lemieux Biography

Mario Lemieux, born October 5, 1965, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the NHL for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2005, and assumed ownership of the franchise in 1999. Lemieux played in 70 or more games in a season on only six occasions, with four of those coming before age 25. His career was limited by health issues, resulting in 915 of a possible 1,430 regular season games between 1984 and 2006. Lemieux made his NHL debut on October 11, 1984, and played his final game on December 16, 2005. He missed the entire 1994–95 season due to Hodgkin's lymphoma. The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted him in 1997, waiving the standard waiting period, and he returned to play in 2000, becoming the third Hall of Famer to do so after being inducted.