Sunday, August 31, 2003

By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

When rookies report to the Penguins' training camp in five days, so much will be so new. New coaches. New faces. Perhaps even new hope.

But for all the fresh questions that will accompany their arrival, the one sure to be most dominant through September will be the same one heard round these parts at this time of year for nearly two decades:

How is No. 66 doing?

"I feel great," Mario Lemieux said with a wide smile, hands on hips after his most recent on-ice workout, Friday morning on Neville Island. "Really great."

That was not something he could have kept a secret from anyone observing his hour-long session with personal trainer Jay Caufield and five other skaters. With each drill, he displayed exceptional burst in his stride, as well as visible stamina. Even in the closing series of laps, his chin never sagged.

To boot, no more than 10 minutes after he was off the ice, he was out of his skating sweats and headed to the weight room.

He minced no words when asked if he is in the best shape of his life.

"Yeah, absolutely. I've been doing a lot of work in there," he said, motioning to the weight room. "That's helping a lot."

Part of Lemieux's emphasis in his conditioning work has been the usual concentration on his long-troublesome back through various stretching and strengthening exercises. He experienced few problems in that area last season, and he has had no discomfort since beginning his training regimen in mid-June.

"I've been working on my back, making sure it's strong," he said. "If my back's feeling good, then I can do a lot more."

The other emphasis, this one new, is increasing lower-body strength. Lemieux is roughly 10 pounds lighter than his playing weight of 230 last season, but none of that loss came in the legs. He is leaner up top, more solid on the bottom.

Those skating with him are offering glowing reviews.

"He looks so much stronger and faster," right winger Aleksey Morozov said. "Right now for him, it's two quick steps and he's gone. There's still a lot of time before we start playing games, but he looks like he can start the season now, the way he's moving."

"You can't keep up with him right now," left winger Kelly Buchberger said. "He's so powerful."

Lemieux elected to stress lower-body strength in hopes of restoring his once superb one-on-one play. He freely admits that, because he will turn 38 five days before the Penguins' Oct. 10 opener, he is no longer likely to split the defense in the manner of his famous 1991 zip through the North Stars' Neil Wilkinson and Shawn Chambers. But he expressed confidence that he can control the puck better with improved leg drive, much in the fashion of a dominant individual performance last season at home against the Blues. In that Feb. 22 game, he routinely rushed up ice with the puck and backed off the defense, one of the few such occasions since his emergence from retirement in 2000.

"Yeah, that's one thing I haven't done very much since I came back," he said. "That was the biggest part of my game before, when I was younger, so I'd like to get back to that and be able to challenge players one-on-one."

A cynic might suggest that Lemieux is preparing to do so much on his own simply because the inexperienced Penguins are not expected to provide much support. That cynic might also scoff at the idea that Lemieux could match or top the 91 points he produced in 67 games last season, given his age and lackluster surrounding cast.

But Lemieux does not sound or act like someone lowering the bar.

"I'm preparing myself for a big season. I know that's going to be a challenge for us, and I want to make sure that I give myself the best opportunity to be successful. To do that, you have to be in great shape. That's what I've been working on the past couple of months. I've never felt better."

Icy chips

Morozov pronounced his wrist "99 percent" healed from the two-bone break which forced him to miss the final four months of last season. And he hedged 1 percent only because he was wearing tape in drills for precautionary reasons. He showed no signs of the injury, repeatedly firing hard wrist and slap shots. "It's great just to be on the ice," he said. "I miss hockey so much. To be here and skating with Mario ... I'm really happy now."

Morozov, on being summoned by Caufield to come to Pittsburgh from Russia two weeks earlier than usual to participate in Lemieux's training: "I put down the phone and said to my wife, 'Let's pack our stuff. We're leaving.' "

With Johan Hedberg gone, debate is sure to intensify as to whether the Penguins should keep Marc-Andre Fleury at age 18. Asked about the subject, Lemieux offered a simple response: "If he's good enough to make the team, he'll make the team."

Of the 57 players coming to camp, only 16 will be on one-way contracts, meaning they are paid their NHL salaries even for time in the minors. Combined, they make $19.65 million. Assuming the other six players who make the NHL team have an average salary of $500,000, that would put the payroll at roughly $23 million. That is about $9 million lower than last year and half what the league's average payroll should be.

Sign of the rebuilding times: 39 of the 57 invitees are Penguins draft picks, including 24 of 35 forwards, 10 of 16 defensemen and five of six goaltenders.

Dan Focht is considered a good bet to make the Penguins' defense, even though he has played only 30 NHL games at age 25. His chance is bolstered by a strong showing for the Penguins in the final 12 games last season after being acquired from the Coyotes. "Nothing less than top six," he said of his goal. "Just coming here after I was traded was so exciting for me. I never wanted the season to end. I started to find a niche there, was playing well, was proving to myself and to other people that I can play in the league."

Only six days to Southpointe.

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