MILWAUKEE -- Welcome to our series on who wore each number best for the Penguins.
The idea is being openly borrowed from our new hockey writer, Cody Tucker, and his project at the Lansing State Journal covering all the uniform numbers worn through Michigan State football history, one that's been well received by their readers and prompted heavy discussion and debate.
Under the organization of Taylor Haase, and following the voting of a big chunk of our staff, we'll publish one new one each day until completion, which should be right around the start of training camp.
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Name: Mario Lemieux
Number: 66
Position: Center
Born: Oct. 5, 1965, in Montreal, Quebec
Season with Penguins: 1984-2005
Statistics with Penguins: 915 games, 690 goals, 1,033 assists in regular season, 107 games, 76 goals, 96 assists in playoffs
WHY LEMIEUX?
He is precisely what his name means in French: He's the best.
Ever.
Anywhere.
At damned near everything.
And what's maybe the most awesome aspect of Lemieux's NHL career is that all of the above applies to almost all of his individual skill sets, which is what truly separated his talent from anyone else to play the game, even Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr and Maurice Richard. Lemieux was a smooth, swift and agile skater for any size, much less a man 6 feet 4 1/2, as well as a brilliantly creative playmaker, a deadly shooter with multiple variations on the shot, a power-play quarterback without parallel and, when the games got biggest, he'd become arguably the most effective defensive forward in the league.
No such supernatural hybrid existed before Mario, there's been none since, and there might never be another.
I'm not going to insult anyone's hockey knowledge here by reciting Mario's countless accomplishments on and off the ice. So many of us have experienced those, in essence, all through our lifetimes. I'm blessed, both personally and professionally, to have either witnessed or covered the entirety of his career and beyond. I was at his first home game at the Civic Arena, both of his Stanley Cups, and I covered his cancer press conference, his first retirement, his return, and his ultimate retirement, as well as multiple levels of his ownership.
Suffice it to say, whatever it is that you think you love about the Lemieux legacy, multiply it. Multiply it a million times over.
He's the greatest hockey player who ever lived. He's the greatest of all of Pittsburgh's athletes, and that's among incredible company. He's also among the greatest of our city's citizens in any walk of life.
Oh, and he did all this ...
WHAT'S HE DOING NOW?
Lemieux, 52, remains intensely involved in the Penguins, maybe more than most realize. He's at nearly every game, makes several road trips, engages in the business end, and it all goes to another level in the playoffs. He and wife Nathalie also are deeply dedicated to local charitable causes, notably the 'Austin's Playroom' initiative for children in hospitals, through the Mario Lemieux Foundation.
IT WAS SPOKEN
Uh-uh, not today. This one's on you. You've read and heard all the Mario testimonials over the years. I want to hear yours. Use the comments section below to share personal memories, experiences, even encounters.
Let's make this one special. We can do that together infinitely better than I can alone.
Tuesday: Taylor has No. 68. She insisted on it from the outset of the project. You'll see why.
Yesterday: Ron Hainsey
