Mario Lemieux Retires for the Last Time
Tuesday January 24, 2006
It's a sad day in Pittsburgh. Mario Lemieux, possibly the greatest hockey player of all time, has officially announced his retirement from NHL hockey and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After years of success and 17 NHL seasons, Mario Lemieux has finally hung up his skates. He cited his health as one of the primary reasons, especially his irregular heartbeat, known as atrial fibrillation.
“This is always a difficult decision to make for any athlete, but I feel the time has come. It’s in the best interest of myself, my family and the Pittsburgh Penguins,” Lemieux said. “I have two main reasons for retiring. The first is I can no longer play at level I was accustomed to in the past. That has been very, very frustrating to me throughout this past year.
“The second one is realizing that my health, along with my family, is the most important thing in the world.”
Mario Lemieux, who retired in 1997 but returned to the ice in late 2000, has missed almost 400 games throughout his illustrious career due to a variety of health conditions and injuries, including back and hip injuries and his well-known battle with cancer. Despite this, however, Mario is still one of the NHL's all-time greats. He still goes out at the top of his sport, with two back-to-back Stanley Cup titles with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992, and the 1987 Canada Cup, 2002 Winter Olympics and 2004 World Cup of Hockey with Team Canada.
Pittsburgh will really miss watching Mario Lemieux skate with the Penguins, but everyone has plenty to say about how much he has done for the city and for hockey in Pittsburgh. Hopefully, we can get the Pittsburgh Penguins their new arena, and bring Mario Lemieux his dream. As Bob Smizik says in his Post Gazette column, "Remember him for his greatness on the ice, for his class off of it. Remember him as Pittsburgh's best -- ever." Best wishes, Mario, to you and your family!
After years of success and 17 NHL seasons, Mario Lemieux has finally hung up his skates. He cited his health as one of the primary reasons, especially his irregular heartbeat, known as atrial fibrillation.
“This is always a difficult decision to make for any athlete, but I feel the time has come. It’s in the best interest of myself, my family and the Pittsburgh Penguins,” Lemieux said. “I have two main reasons for retiring. The first is I can no longer play at level I was accustomed to in the past. That has been very, very frustrating to me throughout this past year.
“The second one is realizing that my health, along with my family, is the most important thing in the world.”
Mario Lemieux, who retired in 1997 but returned to the ice in late 2000, has missed almost 400 games throughout his illustrious career due to a variety of health conditions and injuries, including back and hip injuries and his well-known battle with cancer. Despite this, however, Mario is still one of the NHL's all-time greats. He still goes out at the top of his sport, with two back-to-back Stanley Cup titles with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992, and the 1987 Canada Cup, 2002 Winter Olympics and 2004 World Cup of Hockey with Team Canada.
Pittsburgh will really miss watching Mario Lemieux skate with the Penguins, but everyone has plenty to say about how much he has done for the city and for hockey in Pittsburgh. Hopefully, we can get the Pittsburgh Penguins their new arena, and bring Mario Lemieux his dream. As Bob Smizik says in his Post Gazette column, "Remember him for his greatness on the ice, for his class off of it. Remember him as Pittsburgh's best -- ever." Best wishes, Mario, to you and your family!
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