Mario Lemieux

Even more impressive than the Penguins' comeback from financial ruin was Lemieux's own return as an NHL player on December 27, 2000 in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In doing so, Lemieux became the only player-owner in the NHL. Showing that the time away from the ice had not dimmed his skills, Lemieux scored one goal and had two assists in the game. He ended up playing in forty-three games in the 2000-2001 season and had thirty-five goals and forty-one assists. Lemieux also rediscovered his love for the sport, in part because the changes that he had long advocated had been implemented. "[The style of play] was certainly a big part of my decision to leave the game," he told Darren Pang of the ESPN Network in January 2001, adding, "I like the way the game is going right now, and I like the direction it's heading in and that's why I came back and would like to be part of it."

A hip injury bothered him throughout the 2001-2002 season and Lemieux's time on the ice with the Penguins was further curtailed by his decision to join Canada's men's hockey team at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. Despite the accusations that his decision would hurt his team's chances to make the playoffs, Lemieux was thrilled to represent his country at the event. In one of the most exciting international matches in the history of the sport, Canada triumphed in the final over the United States; it was the country's first Gold Medal in the event in fifty years.

Although he is often ranked second to his contemporary Wayne Gretzky in discussions of the greatest hockey players of the last generation, Lemieux's ability to come back not once, but twice, to the sport has earned him special distinction in the sport's history. Hailed as a prodigy in his youth, Lemieux fulfilled his early promise in his first years in the NHL when he won numerpus awards and led his team to two consecutive Stanley Cups. His ability to rebound from a potentially life-threatening disease and return to a level of play that surpassed almost any other player, however, was a testament to his own perseverance and determination. Returning once again to help his team regain its financial footing and league standing, Lemieux added another compelling chapter to an already storied career.