It only took Mario Lemieux 513 games to reach 1,000 career points. If it hadn't been for lymphoma, back injuries, and his brief retirement, who knows what heights he could have reached. Although he probably never would have reached Wayne Gretzky's totals, it's likely he'd rank as the 2nd highest scorer in history if he hadn't missed so many games.
Mario Lemieux scored 1,723 points (690 goals, 1,033 assists) in 915 games. The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Lemieux immediately after his first retirement in 1997, waiving the normal three-year waiting period. When he returned to the game in 2000, he became the third Hall of Famer (Gordie Howe and Guy Lafleur) to play after being inducted.
Lemieux's place in hockey history was carved out early when he scored one of Canada's most important goals in the 1987 Canada Cup Final versus Russia. As his career progressed, he won every major award, including two Stanley Cups and the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP three times.
Currently, Mario Lemieux is the co-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
I've always been a fan of Mario Lemieux's signature, so I'm glad that I have three in my collection. From 2007-08 ITG Ultimate Memorabilia is a Double Auto/Memorabilia Silver /24 card featuring Mario Lemieux with Jaromir Jagr. From 2007-08 Upper Deck The Cup is a beautiful Limited Logos /50 auto/patch and from 2011-12 Panini Prime comes a Prime Signatures /99 featuring Lemieux's hard-signed flowing autograph.
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