Mario Lemieux is undoubtedly the greatest player in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ history.
Not only did he lead the franchise to its first Stanley Cup titles, but he was so dynamic on the ice that the league waived his three-year wait and immediately inducted him into the Hockey Hall of Fame when he retired in 1997.
He also bought the team out of bankruptcy and twice saved the franchise from leaving the city. If healthy for his entire career, Lemieux would have challenged many of Wayne Gretzky’s records.
Although those conversations will last another millennium, Lemieux’s place in Pittsburgh sports history is undeniable. As one of the best professional athletes to wear black and gold, he set several franchise records that may never fall in our or our kids’ lives.
Here’s a look at five of those untouchable and unbreakable records.
In 1992-92, Lemieux set the franchise record with a plus-55 rating in 60 games. Overall, that total ranks 82nd in NHL history.
Regarding his place in Penguins history, Lemieux is the only one to register a plus/minus total higher than 50, with Hall of Famer Larry Murphy in second place with a plus-45 mark from the same 1992-93 season.
No one in the 21st century has surpassed Matt Niskanen’s high of plus-33 in 2013-14, with Pascal Dupuis (plus-31) and Brian Dumoulin (plus-31) the only other skaters in the plus-30 club.
As arguably one of the greatest performers in team history, even Sidney Crosby’s personal best is only plus-26.
So, unless scoring drastically changes, it will be difficult for anyone to match or even break his record of plus-55, which is now over 30 years old.
During his career, Lemieux was one of hockey’s most dangerous power play specialists, scoring 236 man-advantage goals and finishing with 701 power play points.
Regarding his place in NHL history, Lemieux ranks fifth behind Gretzky (890), Ray Bourque (761), Ron Francis (727), and Al MacInnis (722).
Despite playing less than 1,000 games, Super Mario collected 701 power play points. Crosby is the second closest player in Penguins history to his milestone, approaching 1,300 games and only having 560 points.
Based on averages, Crosby nets roughly 28 man-advantage points a season. So if Sid the Kid wanted to catch his former linemate, he’d need to play at least five more seasons and continue to average close to 30 points to catch Lemieux.
Only one player, Gretzky, has ever collected 200 points in a single season. In the early 1980s, he had 215, 212, 208, and 205 point totals.
The only other skater to ever come close to 200 is Lemieux, who netted 199 in 1988-89.
A whopping 85 goals and 114 assists from Le Magnifique! On this day in 1989, Mario Lemieux scored his 199th point leading to his Art Ross trophy acceptance later that year. pic.twitter.com/zsVshFwXPH
Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 2, 2024
As of 2024, only Gretzky and Lemieux have collected more than 160 points in a season, despite the best efforts from Steve Yzerman (155) and Connor McDavid (153).
Jaromir Jagr (121) and Crosby (120) have the Penguins highest single-season point totals since 1993. It may take another generation or two before anyone comes remotely close to catching Lemieux’s best seasons.
Because of injuries and illness, Lemieux only dressed in 915 regular season contests, compiling 1,723 points. When he retired in 1997, his 2.01 points-per-game average was second only to Gretzky, still producing at a 2.03 pace (at the time).
After his comeback in 2000, he lowered his career total to 1.88, which remains second to only Gretzky (1.92) in NHL history.
For perspective, his 1.88 total is best in Penguins history, ahead of Jaromir Jagr (1.34), Paul Coffey (1.33), and Crosby (1.25).
Since Crosby is less than 200 points away from taking over Lemieux’s spot as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, with a career average of just 1.25, it’s safe to say he, let alone anyone else, has no chance of catching No. 66 in this category.
On Dec. 31, 1988, Lemieux recorded his first five-goal game. Of course, he wasn’t the first and last player to achieve this feat.
However, Le Magnifique remains the only player in NHL history to light the lamp in every way possible, with an even-strength, shorthanded, power-play, penalty shot, and empty net tallies.
Considering that no one else in professional hockey has duplicated his feat from that night, it’s a safe bet that no one will ever tie his record while wearing a Penguins jersey.