Pittsburgh Penguins preserve Mario Lemieux in history with bronze statue -NHL Update
In an incredible move to honour not only one of the best players in their history as a franchise but also in the National Hockey League (NHL), Pittsburgh Penguins unveiled a 4,700 pound bronze statue of Mario Lemieux on Wednesday, March 7, 2012.
The statue is set outside the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, and instead of it being a simple one, Penguins decided to depict what Lemieux was really known for, which was ripping the opposing defence apart.
"On the ice, Mario powered his way past defensemen to score incredible goals," Penguins CEO, David Morehouse, said. "Off the ice, he overcame and broke through so many challenges."
With the puck in control of Lemieux, the statue shows two defenseman losing control of themselves behind the NHL legend as he slides past them, an image carved in stone from their game against New York Islanders back in 1988.
"I have the picture at home," Lemieux said. "I looked at the tape last week, but I don't remember it."
"It illustrates my career on and off the ice," Lemieux added. "I was known for breakaways early in my career and in the early '90s, so this was a perfect photo that we picked."
Mario Lemieux was and still is one of the most celebrated players to ever have graced major league hockey and Pittsburgh was definitely lucky to have picked him up back in 1984’s Entry Draft as the first overall pick.
He played 17 straight seasons with his original draft team and amazingly boasts a record of 915 games played along with 1,723 points (690 goals, 1,033 assists), making him one of the best in history.
The native of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, also won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992 along with being a three-time winner of the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
Despite, what was considered to be an early retirement back in 2006, Mario Lemieux is always remembered when the term, “Hockey Greats” are mentioned with the likes of Wayne Gretzky and a number of others who revolutionised the sport in total for many generations
to come.
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