Mario Lemieux announced yesterday he will pay himself $5.25 million to play for the Penguins next season, the same as he did in 2001-02.
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Mario Lemieux on ice at a youth camp yesterday. (Martha Rial, Post-Gazette) |
What he was unable to say with any degree of certainty is how much bang he will get for his buck.
"I'd like to play most of the games," Lemieux said, citing 60 or 70 as his target. "As long as I feel good, I'd like to be on the ice as much as I can because there aren't too many years left in me. If I feel good and I'm in good shape, if my back and hip are fine, I'll play most of the games."
That's a lot of ifs, particularly given that Lemieux will be 37 in October. Last season, various hip problems limited him to 24 games, in which he produced six goals and 25 assists. After participating in the Olympics in February, he played two games with the Penguins before doctors advised him to stop playing and allow the hip to heal through rest.
He skated yesterday for the first time since the Penguins' 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Kings Feb. 27 at Mellon Arena, playfully roaming the ice with a group of children at brother Alain's hockey development camp on Neville Island.
"Good," he replied when asked how he felt after the hour-long session. "No problems."
Concerns about Lemieux's health heightened earlier this month when his wife, Nathalie, told reporters at his annual golf tournament that his back and hip were bothering him.
"That's why she's not allowed to talk to the media," Lemieux said with a grin yesterday.
He explained that the pain he felt during the golf tournament was the result of a pulled back muscle from golfing in Hawaii two weeks earlier.
"From time to time, you're going to have a bad back here and there," he said. "But it's nothing serious."
Lemieux said he has experienced no complications while working out off the ice for nearly a month -- "Just trying to get a little stronger" -- and will begin his on-ice regimen Aug. 1. As usual, personal trainer Jay Caufield will oversee his workouts, and he will be accompanied by old friends Mark Recchi and Kevin Stevens.
Once he resumes full training, he expects to have a better idea of how his body will be able to handle the rigors of the season.
"I think the change of direction, the speed, those are things that were missing from my game because of the hip. That was frustrating. But if I can get back to where I was when I came back a couple of years ago, if I can change directions and get my speed back, I can still play some pretty good hockey."
Lemieux addressed a few other topics:
On the status of financing for a new arena, the plan for which is due from government officials Sunday: "We had a meeting last week that went pretty well. We're just waiting to get our proposal, analyze it and go from there."
On whether a new arena might help the Penguins keep their free agents, as the Steelers' new stadium has done: "It's going to give us a chance to remain competitive with other markets. If you generate more revenue, then you're able to sign more free agents that we can't do right now."
On whether the Penguins have enough depth to overcome the near-certain loss of center Robert Lang to free agency as early as Sunday: "I think so. If you look at our forwards, we're still very talented up front. It's always been that way here in Pittsburgh. If we lose Robert, it's a big piece that will be missing, but I think there are some guys who can step in and do the job."
On how it felt to see a record three Pittsburgh-area players selected in the NHL Entry Draft this past weekend, which would have been unthinkable before Lemieux sparked a local boom in rinks: "It's great. It certainly took awhile to get some of our kids taken in the draft. But since I came here in 1984, hockey has come a long way, especially in the past 10 years. It's nice to see that a lot of the young kids here in Pittsburgh have a chance to play and compete at a high level and finally get a chance to maybe play in the NHL someday. I think we're still a little behind, but you've got to give us time. It's not like the Canadian cities, like in Montreal, where I grew up -- up there, you have a rink every second block -- but I think we're catching up."
On the Penguins' recent emphasis on drafting defensemen with their high picks: "That's where it starts. If you look at the teams that have won the Stanley Cup the past few years, Colorado and Detroit, they have three or four solid defensemen. If you have some good, young defensemen who can be in your organization for 10, 12 years, you can win a lot of championships."
On the NHL's decision to institute hurry-up faceoffs next season: "It's great for the game. I think the games are too long, that there's too much down time. It was great in the Olympics. It was a two-hour game, and it was fun to be a part of it. Players will get used to it. The first month or so might be difficult, but they'll get the hang of it."
On the league's decision to put up safety netting to protect spectators behind each goal: "I think it's the right thing. Hopefully, it's not going to obstruct the view of our fans back there. They've done a lot of research on that, and the net's almost invisible, I'm told. The game is so fast right now, the players so big and strong, that they move the puck very quickly. It's better to make sure we're protecting everybody."
On a small goatee he was sporting, similar to that of speed skater Anton Apolo Ohno: "It's just a different look. Nathalie doesn't like it very much, so I might have to shave it."
No change in Lemieux's salary 
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