Two Pittsburgh area state representatives announce plan to create "Mario Lemieux Day" in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG (KDKA) - Two Pennsylvania State Representatives have announced their intentions to introduce a resolution that honors one of the greatest hockey players of all time.
Representatives Jim Marshall and Nick Pisciottano on Wednesday made the announcement that they will use the resolution to make June 6, 2024, Mario Lemieux Day in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
That date is the 40th anniversary of the Penguins drafting Lemieux in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft.
Lemieux had a storied hockey career in the NHL, playing only for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Across 17 seasons and 915 games, he scored 690 goals which ranks 11th all-time, 1,033 assists which ranks 12th overall, and his 1.88 points-per-game is second all-time behind only Wayne Gretzky.
He also won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 1991 and 1992.
Following his initial retirement in 1997, the traditional five-year waiting period for the Hockey Hall of Fame was waived and Lemieux was inducted in November 1997.
It wasn't just greatness on the ice that made Mario Lemieux such an exceptional figure.
He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease in 1993 and after overcoming the disease, he founded the Mario Lemieux Foundation which has now raised millions of dollars for cancer research and patient resources.
Then, from 1999 until 2021, Mario Lemieux helped save the franchise from bankruptcy, purchasing the team and serving as president, chairman, and CEO of the franchise. In that time, the Penguins won three Stanley Cups, secured a new arena, and a long-term future in Pittsburgh.
