Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
It was preseason 2005, and all eyes followed Mario Lemieux as the charismatic face of the Pittsburgh Penguins strode to the media conference room podium in the old Civic Arena. Lemieux, then the team’s Hall of Fame center as well as team owner, expressed optimism for the upcoming season after the club brought in several bigger name veterans.
And the Kid.
Everyone wanted to know what Lemieux thought of 18-year-old, first overall draft pick Sidney Crosby. Well, of course Lemieux praised the skill of the projected generational talent. But there were some muffled giggles as Lemieux acknowledged that Crosby would be living at Chez Lemieux, and the word “uncle” was kiddingly tossed out.
A couple media members whispered further that Lemieux, then 39, was old enough to be Crosby’s father, too. Even Lemieux smiled.
In the ensuing years, Lemieux has meant many things to Crosby – landlord, briefly teammate, boss, and mentor on many things hockey and otherwise. In the early years, Crosby even babysat the Lemieux children.
And now the two are linked in a new, historic and eye-catching way.
Crosby, now 38, scored in the first period and added an assist Sunday night in a game against the Montreal Canadiens at PPG Paints Arena to tie and then pass Lemieux for the most career points in Penguins history with 1,724 — by any measure, an amazing accomplishment in a season where it seems Crosby is reaching some sort of milestone or record nearly every week.
The Penguins beat the Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout.
“It’s kind of mixed emotions, I guess, because that number had been hanging around, and the hockey gods made me earn it,” Crosby, who had been close to Lemieux’s mark for several games, said after Sunday’s win. “But to get the win, and get a win in a shootout, it all kind of lined up well.”
For a goal that tied the score 1-1, Crosby tapped the puck in from the low slot on a feed from Erik Karlsson. He then added an assist on a power-play goal by Rickard Rakell later in the first and was swarmed by his teammates.
The Penguins played a Crosby tribute video on the big screen. It included a video by Mario Lemieux congratulating his one-time tenant, followed by a standing ovation.
“Hey Sid, congratulations on passing me with 1,724 points,” Lemieux said in the video. “I knew when we played together in 2005 that you were going to be a very special player and accomplish a lot of great things in your career. Here we are 20 years later. You now are one of the best to ever play the game. You’ve been a great ambassador for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the National Hockey League and the hockey world. I just would like to wish you all the best the rest of the way, and again, congratulations. Well done, my friend.”
Crosby later said he was impressed by how quiet the arena got when Lemieux’s video came on and what respect that conveyed. “If you don’t understand the impact he’s had here, and you were here tonight, I think you understand a little bit better now.”
As for his relationship with Lemieux, Crosby said:
“I just have so much appreciation for, one, having the opportunity to play with him. You grow up watching him. You never expect you’re going to make the NHL, let alone play with him. So I had the opportunity to play with him, live with him, learn from him, and the impact that he’s had here on this team on and off the ice, and the impact he’s had on hockey in general, it’s pretty amazing. I think there’s just a real appreciation, and, obviously, the fact that he was a big part of helping me out and had a huge influence on me — both him and his family — it makes it even more special. I could go on and on, but it definitely means a lot.”
Against the Canadiens, Crosby was playing in his 35th game this season. The two points gave him a team-leading 37. For his career, he has 645 goals, 1,079 assists.
Crosby isn’t Sid the Kid anymore, and he’s more than made his mark on the NHL, now in his 21st season. He is not only a generational talent but broadly recognized as an all-time great. In passing Lemieux in the franchise record book, he also moved ahead of him for eighth overall in points in NHL history. One of the idols of his youth, Steve Yzerman, is one slot ahead in league history, seventh with 1,755 points. That should be within reach this season.
Crosby served as the face of the NHL for the first several seasons of his career, and if any player besides Lemieux will also have a statue erected outside PPG Paints Arena, it will be him. Lemieux is credited with saving the franchise in Pittsburgh more than once — when he was drafted in 1984 and helped the team become a winner when it might otherwise have been moved to another city; when he took over the team out of bankruptcy as owner; and when he helped get the new arena built with the Civic Arena well past its prime.
Lemieux, a spectacular talent and magician with the puck, won two Stanley Cups but also dealt with health issues – even a temporary retirement – and needed just 915 games played to reach 1,723 points. He retired for good in January of Crosby’s 2005-06 rookie season because of a heart condition, initially passing the torch to the superstar-in-the-making. That torch was fully transferred to Crosby on Sunday.
Crosby, who has captained the Penguins to three Stanley Cups, was playing in his 1,386th game when he passed Lemieux.
Tags: mario lemieux Pittsburgh Penguins Shelly Anderson Sidney Crosby
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