The sentimental side

By Billy Lancett

When Mario Lemieux returned to hockey, the sport had never been so happy. From league officials to coaches to players around the league, everyone knew what it meant for the National Hockey League. Everyone knew that a player of Lemieux's caliber could vault the subpar Pittsburgh Penguins from a middle of the pack team to a Stanley Cup contender.

The question was how would the rest of the NHL react to that very fact? Would the NHL simply be happy to have one of it's biggest stars returning to it? Or would they be resentful of a player that makes a mid level team better by just his mere presence? How would the NHL see the boost of an average by a star that the league clearly needed, but who had been out of the game while other better teams had emerged.

When the playoffs started, there was much anticipation in regards to the Penguins battle with the Washington Capitals. Everyone was waiting to see how the league would view the story, if the Penguins won. The Penguins beat the Capitals and then struggled, scratched, and clawed to get past the Buffalo Sabres in seven games.

Could this be good for the game of hockey? According to an NHL General Manager that we spoke with, although the Penguins lost to the New Jersey Devils in the conference finals, there wasn't anyone relatively happy about it.

"There wasn't a person around this league that wasn't quietly rooting for them to win the Cup," stated the general manager, who spoke with Fanstop.com on condition of anonymity. "It would have been a great thing for hockey if he could have led that team to the Cup. Let's face it, without him they are not a great team. It could have been a big story that would have kept hockey on the front page for a long time."

The return of Lemieux seemed to cool the impending departure of star captain Jaromir Jagr. While it looks like Jagr may still leave the Penguins, it made the star be able to play through the season and brought joy back not only to the league, but also to the city of Pittsburgh. A city that was in desperate need of some good news, as they watched their sports scene continue to tumble down hill.

Unlike basketball, where the return of Michael Jordan is seen as a bad thing, the GM we spoke with said it was not the same in the case of Super Mario. Many basketball fans have said that if Jordan returns and wins a championship, that it would reek of fix. However, no one said the same thing when Lemieux returned to the ice. That is because, according to the GM, the feel and look of Lemieux's return was much more real and genuine.

"With Michael, it is basically an old man coming back to recapture his spotlight," he said. "It was not at all like that with Mario. His return sparked a team and a city that were both down on his luck. He was still the consensus greatest player in hockey or second greatest player in hockey, even three years after he was gone. It isn't the same for Michael because of the other emerging basketball stars. Mario did the comeback for others; Michael is doing the comeback for himself. There in lies the difference."

The comeback of Lemieux also was great because nothing had changed in his level of play. Nothing was different about the Lemieux, accept maybe that as he had aged his game was better. He realized that he could no longer dominate players physically, which made him a smarter player and a better player to watch. The legendary Lemieux play was evident as well, as he tallied 35 goals and 41 assists for a whopping 76 points in only 43 games. He also played at a sparking +15. According to the GM, this is what made the comeback so special.

"His play made it all," he said. "If he would have come out and not played well, then it would have been the same of kind of thing as the Michael comeback. However, he went out there and sparkled like it as classic Mario. That made everything worth watching with him. Because you knew he was the same type of player. it is what made him worth rooting for."

While Lemieux didn't win the Stanley Cup, it is clear that he is and will always be a sentimental favorite around the National Hockey League. Clearly his return and his presence were good for the game of hockey. They were a once in a lifetime happening that made everyone in hockey sit up, notice, and cheer for the star.

Article courtesy of Fanstop.com