The Hockey News Archive
Forty years ago, NHL icon Mario Lemieux played his first hockey at the NHL level.
In this cover story from The Hockey News’ Nov. 2, 1984, edition (Volume 38, Issue 6), contributing writer Dave Molinari chronicled Lemieux’s first week of NHL action.
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One of Lemieux’s first opponents was the Montreal Canadiens – and Lemieux was unsure about the reception he’d get when playing in his home province of Quebec. But while his Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t play well against the Habs, Lemieux performed about as well as could be expected under the circumstances, even if he was critical of his performance.
“There was a lot of pressure because all of my family was there and most of the people were there to watch me,” Lemieux told Molinari. ”It was tough because the team didn’t play well, so it was tough for me to play well.”
Things got better for Lemieux in the Pens’ home-opener against the Vancouver Canucks. Lemieux put up a terrific feed on teammate Doug Shedden’s opening goal. And although Canucks coach Bill LaForge wasn’t overly complimentary toward Lemieux, he acknowledged Lemieux was a special athlete.
“He made a great pass on the opening goal, but he didn’t do much else,” LaForge said. “To tell the truth, he’s going to be a great player, but it takes time.”
MARIO LEMIEUX’S FIRST-WEEK STATISTICS SPEAK MUCH LOUDER THAN ANY WORDS
Vol. 38, No. 6, Nov. 2, 1984
By Dave Molinari
Devotees of the game speak of the harsh realities of adjusting to life in the National Hockey League, of the toll extracted by extensive travel and of the rigors of regularly competing against some of the finest players on the planet.
All of that, they insist, makes the transition from junior to professional a difficult proposition for even the most talented teenager.
And so it was for Mario Lemieux, the man charged with revitalizing the stagnant Pittsburgh Penguin franchise. Lemieux, in fact, showed absolutely no signs of seizing the NHL by the throat until well over a minute into his first professional shift.
Penguin officials valiantly struggled to hide their disappointment. After watching Lemieux’s first game, for example, general manager Eddie Johnston bravely sported a smile that would have resisted the finest efforts of any sandblaster.
Lemieux’s performance in his first week earned mixed reviews from opponents and the sporting press. Boston goalie Pete Peeters, for example, dismissed Lemieux with a simple “he’ll be awesome.” The Boston Globe wrote him off as just another “rookie of the millennium.”
But the most accurate portrait of Lemieux’s first week can be gained from numbers, not those non-commital words. In his first three games with the Penguins, Lemieux had one goal and three assists, taking part in nearly half the team’s 10 goals.
And there is one other figure of note, 15,741. That’s the number of fans Lemieux attracted to the Penguin’s home-opener at the Civic Arena, where an average of 6,839 chose to while away their evenings last winter.
And so it was, by all accounts, a week to remember.
OCT. 11
Lemieux is perched on a stool at the counter of a Boston hotel coffee shop that is a monument to glass-and-brass excess. His fork is poised for what will be an unsuccessful offense against a stack of pancakes, but his thoughts have drifted ahead 10 hours to the start of his first NHL game.
“It’s not going to be easy against the Bruins,” he said softly. “But yes, I am ready.”
Less than three minutes into the first period, he showed just how ready he was and how easy he could make it look. The Bruins, in keeping with tradition, were swarming in the Penguins’ end, and all-star defenseman Ray Bourque was holding the puck and directing the play from the right point.
Seconds later, he was watching Lemieux bolt through center ice on an unimpeded path to his first professional goal.
“I tried to pass the puck between his stick and his skate,” Bourque would say later, “it hit his skate and he was just gone.”
There remained the small matter of Peeters, but Lemieux resolved that with a move that left Peeters somewhere near Causeway Street.
“I just stood there, forced him to make a move,” Peeters said. “And he made his move.”
Still, despite two goals from Warren Young and an assist by Lemieux, the Penguins were unable to hold a 3-1 lead and lost 4-3. Whatever pleasure Lemieux derived from his two-point debut was tempered by the defeat.
“All thing (considered), I’m happy,” he said. “But it would have been better if we had won the game.”
OCT. 12
After the game in Boston Garden, Lemieux spoke of the pressure inherent in being the publicly proclaimed savior of the franchise and how that burden had been eased by the passage of his first game.
But during an afternoon workout at the Montreal Forum, it was obvious the pressure would be renewed — if not intensified — for his first professional game before the hometown fans, a throng that would include about 70 friends and family members.
After the practice, Lemieux was besieged by the Montreal media, and confronted by dozens of questions in two languages. His return had not gone unnoticed.
Still, he said, it was great to be home to spend a night with his family for the first time in a month, and to be on the verge of realizing a dream that went back to his formative years in Ville Emard.
“It’s always been my dream to play for the Canadiens — or against them — so I’m looking forward to playing,” he said.
OCT. 13
A total of 15,691 fans made their way to the Forum on this night and fully one-quarter were moved to accord Lemieux a standing ovation during the pre-game introductions.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” Lemieux said. “I didn’t know if they were going to boo me or cheer for me.”
But those who had come to cheer Lemieux during the game, or to witness a repeat of Lemieux’s record-setting exploits with the Laval Voisins, would go away disappointed. Montreal center Guy Carbonneau and linemates Bob Gainey and Chris Nilan would hold Lemieux to two of the Penguins’ 12 shots, and Lemieux managed just one assist in a 4-3 loss.
“There was a lot of pressure because all of my family was there and most of the people were there to watch me,” Lemieux said.”It was tough because the team didn’t play well, so it was tough for me to play well.”
OCT. 14
Just one night after he had discovered the rigors of playing against one of the league’s top defensive centers, Lemieux learned of the hazards facing any NHL rookie, even the kind who only come along “once in a millennium.”
During the flight from Montreal to Pittsburgh, a teammate deftly used a folded plastic card to apply several mounds of shaving cream to the front of Lemieux’s omnipresent cap. He then planted a cigarette which stood, candle-like, for several minutes before Lemieux awakened and realized sleeping on the plane is every bit as risky as rushing up the ice with your head down.
OCT. 15
Lemieux makes his first-ever appearance on the ice at the Civic Arena before a largely unimpressed horde of workers preparing the building for the home-opener. It is the first Arena practice for the Penguins, who trained at nearby Mt. Lebanon.
OCT. 16
That long-awaited home-opener — billed for months as the Lemieux Debut — is but a day off and Lemieux is peering down the barrel of a fill-in-the-blanks question that has shadowed him since even before the June 9 entry draft.
“Do you feel pressure (fill in the appropriate details)?” In this case, it is playing before the Pittsburgh fans for the first time.
“I’m not really nervous,” he said. “Everybody’s going to be pumped up and we’re going to work hard for the people of Pittsburgh.”
OCT. 17
Lemieux is introduced to the near capacity crowd and is greeted by the sort of reception usually reserved for war heroes and returning astronauts. The fans then settle down to the business of pulling off the perfect wave, leaving it to Lemieux to make the splash.
It didn’t take long. Just 18 seconds into the game, Lemieux cut past Vancouver defenseman Doug Hal ward outside the Canucks blue line, cruised down the left-wing boards and threw a picturesque pass to right winger Doug Shedden, who was cutting down the slot.
The Penguins had a 1-0 lead and their fans had a long-awaited cause for celebration.
Minutes later, he would pummel Vancouver’s Gary Lupul after receiving what Lemieux said was his second spearing of the period. The bond between Lemieux and the Pittsburgh fans was completed, sealed with a chant of MAR-EEE-O.
That Lemieux would play an insignificant role the rest of the way in what proved to be a 4-3 Pittsburgh victory hardly mattered to the crowd, but did not escape the attention of Vancouver coach Bill LaForge.
“He made a great pass on the opening goal, but he didn’t do much else,” LaForge said. “To tell the truth, he’s going to be a great player, but it takes time.”
Based upon what they saw in his first three games, the Penguins will give Lemieux whatever time he needs. They would not object in the least were he to continue trying to perfect his craft for another, say, 15 years.
That is the only prudent approach because, Johnston said, “He’s going to be a great player in this league for a long time.”
And this was only the beginning.
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