Home >  Sports >  Notebooks

Sunday, October 27, 2002

By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

DETROIT -- The last place in the hockey world where anyone doubts that Mario Lemieux can win a scoring title at age 37 is in the locker room of the Stanley Cup champions.

"He's 37, right?," the Red Wings' Chris Chelios asked Friday morning at Joe Louis Arena. "The way I look at it, he's still young."

That's because Chelios, the NHL's reigning plus-minus titlist, is 40. His teammates share that view, too, and it's understandable. Although an NHL survey released early in the week showed that Detroit's lineup had the third- highest average age in the league, that was based on opening-game rosters which didn't include captain Steve Yzerman, 37. If he is factored in, the Red Wings' roster probably is the oldest. More relevant, no NHL team leans more on its aged. Igor Larionov will turn 42 in two months. Brett Hull is 38. Luc Robitaille is 36.

With all the success they have enjoyed as a group, they aren't about to dismiss Lemieux's chances of becoming the oldest player to win the Art Ross Trophy.

As goaltender Curtis Joseph, 35, put it, "As long as he stays healthy -- knock on wood -- there's no reason why he couldn't win it. He's one of the greatest players ever, and he's playing great. That's all you need to see. Doesn't matter what his age is."

Chelios knows Lemieux better than most, having long shared the same agent, Tom Reich.

"If anybody can do it, he can," he said. "Especially with the new rules. He got what he wanted, right? You can't touch anybody who ever scored 50 goals."

Chelios allowed a grin.

"No, really, I wish him the best. I love him, and it's great to have him back in the league and doing so well. If anybody is happy to see Mario playing like this, believe me, it's our guys in this locker room."

It's not as if the Red Wings need further evidence that the age barrier keeps getting shoved higher and higher in the NHL.

League statistics show that the average age of its players has soared from 25.3 two decades ago to 26.6 a decade ago to the current all-time high of 28.1. And it is not the hangers-on boosting the statistic. Rather, it is the likes of Ron Francis, Al MacInnis, Adam Oates, Scott Stevens and Mark Messier, all 38 or older and still making valuable contributions.

Which explains why players such as Chelios bristle upon being described as freaks. He attributes his remarkable consistency and health to diligent off-ice training that he sees as little different than what many players his age do now.

"Look around. There are guys in this league who work just as hard as I do," he said. "That's what you're seeing with Mario now. He's working hard, and he's getting results. He should have figured that out 10 years ago, like I did. He always went on his natural ability, and that was enough. But eventually, you get to the age where you need the training."

Chelios wondered if Lemieux might have spared himself years of pain and missed time if he had trained as he does now throughout his career.

"Mario's a tall guy, and tall guys are going to have back problems. But who's to say that, if he had started training like he is now, if he had done the work with the exercise ball that's necessary to keep your back healthy, if he would never have had those problems? It's all hindsight now, so you don't know now, I guess."

What Chelios did express with certainty is that he doesn't share the view of many that Lemieux is bound to get hurt sooner or later.

"If he's working out now and he feels good physically, that's great. That's what matters," he said. "I'll go further: If he keeps working out like he is, maybe he's going to get better, if that's even possible. That's how I feel about it. Where does it say that he can't get better? He's a smarter player now than ever, and he's in the best shape of his life."