Mario Lemieux Pittsburg Penguins Upper Deck 1991-92

Mario Lemieux OC CQ (/ləˈmjuː/; French: [ləmjø]; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League(NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2005, and he assumed ownership of the franchise in 1999. Nicknamed "the Magnificent One", "Le Magnifique", and "Super Mario", Lemieux is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time for his combination of size, strength, athleticism, and creativity. The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Lemieux immediately after his first retirement in 1997, waiving the normal three-year waiting period; upon his return in 2000, he became the third Hall of Famer (after Gordie Howe and Guy Lafleur) to play after being inducted.^[2]Lemieux's impact on the NHL has been significant: Andrew Conte of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review called him the saviour of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and after Lemieux's retirement, Wayne Gretzky commented, "You don't replace players like Mario Lemieux ... The game will miss him."^[11] Bobby Orr called him "the most talented player I've ever seen." Orr, along with Bryan Trottier and numerous fans,^[6]speculated that if Lemieux had had fewer health issues, his on-ice achievements would have been much greater.^[11] In 2017, he was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players".^[12] He was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2004, and into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2008.