RateItAll: The Opinion Network

A highlight reel of Lemieux moving in alone on the goalie would make for some of the greatest moments in hockey. He had the most incredible insticts in front of the net ever. Had he stayed healthy (he overcame cancer, a herniated spinal disc and an arythmic heart during his playing career) and had he played for an owner that had the resources to build a team around him the way that Peter Pocklington did for Gretzky in Edmonton, its easy to argue that he would have over-shadowed the Great One. We will never know definitively. But without a doubt as a goal scorer his play had way more flash than his contemporary. One sportswriter neatly summed up that if they were guitar heroes, Wayne Gretzky would have been Eric Clapton, an innovative and all around solid player with a long career and Mario Lemieux would have been Jimi Hendrix the blazing player that burned brightest but briefly.

At his prime, more like an elemental force of nature than an athlete.

My two favourite memories of him are in the Canada Cup series, final game in 1986.

Memory one: Playing on a line with Wayne Gretzky, the puck comes to him at his own blue line and he headmans it to a breaking Gretzky, and trails the play. Gretzky comes over the opposing blue line and twice fakes a shot, drawing the defensemen and goalie over. Meanwhile Lemieux coasts in over the blue line, his stick back and waiting. Gretzky throws a blind backhand pass to Lemieux, whose stick is already in motion BEFORE the pass is made. He unleashes an unholy piledriver of a shot high to the glove side that the goalie never even moves for.

Memory two: Gold medal final, 2002 Olympics. With Canada a goal up late in the third, a scrimmage in front of the U.S. net and the puck comes loose to Lemieux, about four feet out with two thirds of the net open. Probably for the first time since he played Atom hockey, he fans on the shot, and the look of disbelief on his face was priceless.

Great when motivated, unfortunately he was that way for only about 6 or 7 years. If he had Gretzky's motor....of course if Gretzky had been 6' 5"....

It's a damn shame has career was crippled by back problems and cancer. Lesser players and lesser men would have quit long before this guy.

Dryden said it best - give me 5 Orr's against 5 of anyone else and I'll win every time. Orr had the complete package. The 5-tool baseball analogy comes to mind He could do it all in a combined presentation better than anyone Shoot Skate Pass Hit Fight - when needed, ask Park He saw the ice as well, if not better than Gretsky. Lemieux reminds me of an unfinished great story that could have been the best, but fell short of being added to the Mt. Rushmore of hockey - Orr, Howe,Beliveau and Gretsky

A superb player but not quite gretsky. Gretsky led his team to more stanley Cups and made more of an impact over a greater period of time. His points per game record in play offs - a true test of greatness - is also better than marios. Morio is on any serious list of 5 or 6 all time greats but he is behind Gretsky.

In my opinion the greatest hockey talent to ever play the game.

Greatest forward to ever play and second only to Orr overall in the greatest overall player category.

Anybody who does not know that Mario Lemieux is the greatest hockey player of all time does not know anything about the sport or it's players. Mario, Wayne, Bobby, and Gordie in that order.

Hes the best hockey player who ever lived, he may not have broken all of Gretzky's records, but then again, Gretzky ALWAYS had a supporting cast of talent around him, Lemieux did not, he only did around the 90's. Hes done it most of the time by himself. And no human being just scores a goal in there first game back from retirement. He is the God of hockey. He is the first sports player in history to retire, be inducted to the hall of fame, and come out of retirement to play again DESPITE hes ALREADY in the hall of fame! And also the first Owner & Player in sports history. Michael Jordan was the 2nd to do both of those, except he was not a full owner. If that doesn't make him the best player in NHL history, and hockey itself. i don't know what will.

The greatest player I've ever seen. Great shot, passing, hands, vision, stickhandling, the best ever on breakaways, great in the clutch, strong, overcame so much, remarkable creativity. Would have scored 250 points in a season if on Edmonton's teams in the 80s.

Number 2 on my all time list after Orr. I put Gretzky third on the list. This would be modern era only. Of the pre-70's, I'd have Howe followed by Maurice Richard. Why? Although considered a floater early in his career, he had less talent early in his career in Pittsburgh than Gretzky had with the Oilers and still achieved amazing things. Neither is in Orr's class, however, as a two way phenom. Still give all of them 5 stars...how can you not? People that give any of these guys less than 4 stars are smoking the drapes...

simply lazy, nice hands though .

Without question the great player I ever saw. He was better than Gretzky, better than Orr, and MUCH better than Howe. The most talented player ever and the most underrated.

Nobody does it better. Mario has done it all inspite of his health problems, he has made fans out of non-fans.

laaaaaaayyyyyyyy mmoooooooooooooo( no one can compare to the great one) BOBBY ORR RULES

I remember when he ripped off a couple of goals in MSG against the Rangers only a day or so after treatment for cancer. Even bitter NY fans were chanting his name. Mario would have owned all the records if not for injuries and cancer. I wish he wasn't such a whiny bitch. . .but that doesn't diminish his greatness.

Simply the Best

The greatest hockey player of all time. Don't even look at the stats; look at it this way. Pretend you had never seen a hockey game before. There's a game being played, and the players aren't wearing numbers or names on their backs. If Lemieux and Gretzky were playing against one another, or were even on the same team, I defy anyone to say that Lemieux wasn't better. Take away all the stats, the teammates, the health. Take it all away, and just watch those two play. I saw them both in their prime, and yes, Gretzky truly was great. Lemieux, however, was greater. English speaking Canada will never admit that a French man is better than their beloved Gretzky, which is very sad.

lemieux is the reason I'm a hockey fan

great hockey player, even better weeper.

one dimensional player only scores cant back check.. SOMEBODY SHOULD HAVE BELTED HIM TO SEE WHAT HES GOT..BUT EVERYTIME HE GOT HIT BITCH,BITCH,BITCH,BITCH,BITCH...STOP YAPPING PLAY THE GAME,DONT LIKE IT,STAY RETIRED.

In my opinion, Mario is the 3rd greatest player down to Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr.

The greatest impact player the game has ever seen, period!

If Wayne Gretzky is number "1" among all-time players, Lemieux must be number "1-A", and light-years ahead of Howe. Skeptical? Let's begin with the fact that Lemieux is the greatest Junior Hockey player ever: with Laval of the QMJHL in '83-84, he notched 133 GOALS AND 282 POINTS IN A 70-GAME SCHEDULE! That's insane. When the draft rolled around that year, Lemieux was regarded as a once-in-a-lifetime pick, a franchise savior. The Penguins were even charged with losing intentionally just to get the rights to Mario. He just fed Pittsburgh's collective expectation in a preseason scrimmage, where he wowed fans repeatedly with puckhandling magic and sheer talent. At 6'4", 200, Lemieux was quite an imposing figure, yet he performed magical feats night in and night out despite status as the center of the defense's attention every shift. Early in his career he posted numbers only surpassed by some guy who wears 99, yet his teammates were so inept that postseason success was very far from Lemieux's grasp. Finally, by the early 90's, Pittsburgh had surrounded Lemieux with players worthy of his talent. Luc Robitaille once said, "A fire hydrant could score 40 goals playing on Lemieux's line," so imagine what a talented player could do! Paul Coffey, Ron Francis, Petr Nedved, Alexei Kovalev, and Jaromir Jagr found out, and Mario hoisted cups in 1991 and '92. However, Mario (who long since battled back pain) was diagnosed with cancer in 1993. His comeback from it, though, was the single greatest comeback in sports history. Though he never lifted the Cup after, Lemieux has continued to re-write record books and carry a city on his shoulders. He should go down as the greatest stickhandler in NHL history, and a player who, if not injury-plagued throughout his career, would have given Gretzky a run for his money when it comes to Gretzky's records.

TRUE WARRIOR!

what more can be said about the magnificent one...class all the way

Awesome physical tools. Unbelievable one-on-one.

I consider myself so very fortunate to have been able to see Mario play on a nightly basis. Just when you would get used to all the things he would do on the ice, he would make an even more ridiculous move, score a more incredible goal, and jerk you out of your seat all over again. Gretzky may have the stats on Mario, but in a moment of candor, even the The Great One (and make no mistake, Wayne is 100% deserving of that tag.) admitted (on ESPN Radio's "Game Night") that had Mario's body not betrayed him, he would be chasing Lemieux's records, not visa-versa. And he is one of the greatest guys you would ever want to meet off the ice. What more could you want? Only know are we fans in Pittsburgh beginning to realize how spoiled we got watching Mario, Jagr, Ronnie Francis, Joey Mullen and that whole Penguin team of the early 90's. Ahhh, the good ol' days.....

We need to take just "one" thing into consideration when comparing Gretzky to any other player that has ever played in the NHL! I want to state unequivocally that if Wayne Gretzky had to play the game with the same perils that "EVERY" other player had to play with he would not even be in the top five all-time players let alone be near or at the top. Unlike Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky did not need an enforcer because no one even tried to hit him let alone fight him. If Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux, Gilbert Perreault, Guy Lafleur, Mike Bossy... were allowed to roam around the ice without the fear of being hit they too would have put up even more staggering numbers than they did. If you don't believe this, let's look at the yearly all-star games as an example. Everyone knows that in this game there is a no hit rule. When one compares the numbers put up by Mario with those put up by Wayne; there is no comparison. Gretzky played twice as many games as Mario did and they have equal numbers. The point being that under that no hit rule Mario is so much more productive than Gretzky. For you guys that laud Wayne Gretzky take a look at this reality. Don't think I am using the all-star game as a measuring stick for one's career, I am simply saying that Gretzky not being hit, was like him playing in a 20 year long all-star game. The biggest black mark on the greatest game in the world is the fact that one player (Wayne Gretzky) was allowed to skate around the ice without the fear that every other player had to worry about - that was being hit. Look at the "other" great playeys that I have listed; they were all creamed at every opportunity. Do people think that Gretzky was "the only" player good enough to avoid being hit? Come on you guys, wake up and smell the coffee. That would be like if one running back in the NFL was just arm tackled or one player in the Major Leagues was thrown strikes right down the middle of the plate at 70 miles per hour.

MARIO: A real "players player".The one, who would of shattered Gretzky's all-time record, had he remained healthy ! Lemieux can still rack up the points on any given night.( Could you imagine him playing with Orr when he [Orr], was in his prime? ) This guy is a night-mare on a break away. He would be "a must" on my favorite all-time team.

Mario gave the Penguins the Stanley cup. He beat cancer. He saved the Pens from bankruptcy. Then he came out of retirement to lead the league in points. How amazing is that?

Gretzky's season records were mostly in the 80s when everyone got points. Lemieux entered the league in 84 and was on a bad team, where gretzky was on a great team at the time. When Gretzky left the oilers He only lead in scoring 3 of the 11 seasons He wasn't an oiler and Lemieux lead in scoring for 6 of those years.Gretzky's team was a huge factor in his success. While gretzky wasn't with edmonton and won the art ross trophy over lemieux, lemieux played 22, 26 and 59 games where gretzky played 81, 78 and 73 games respectively for those seasons. Matter of fact, since Lemieux entered the league in 84, the ONLY times Gretzky beat lemieux in points was when he played more games then Lemieux. Lemieux has never played 80 or more games in a season and Gretzky has 9x! Lemieux played 60 or less games 7x where gretzky has 2x. Because of this kind of information it's unfair to compare totals.. and Lemieux does average more points per game then Gretzky.. So lemieux is the best player ever, period.

Mario is the greatest of all-time. He's a bandaid unfortunately but if you look at his points per game average and assume that he'd play as many games as Wayne you'd see that it beat Wayne by a good 150 points overall.

If there is any disputing just how magnificent Lemieux is, take a look at one of his highlight moments. It was in the playoffs against Boston when he completely undressed the NHL's top defenceman - Ray Bourque and broke away to score an amazing goal on Boston's poor unfortunate goalie. Lemieux scores goals and sets up plays in ways mere mortals can only dream of.

I we compare points/game, assists/game and goals/game in their career, Lemieux beats Gretzky in all three categories. Lemieux should take Gretzky's "Greatest Of All Time" title, since he obviously does not deserve it.

2nd only to Gretsky as a forward.

He is a very good player. Even I am Lemieux's fan, I still think he is not better than Gretzky, esp. not in statistic even if he has a good health as Gretzky's. I do not believe he will surpass Gretzky if he has a good health and play as many games as Gretzky did. Because I believe that Gretzky got the name "The Great One" because he really has that talents. Lemieux has his own talents too. But not the talents that would surpass Gretzky. Compare the young Gretzky's plays to Lemieux's plays.

mario lemieux is the greatest player ever. he played most of his career in pain and was as good as Gretzky. Imagine the things he could of done if he wasn't in pain. LEMIEUX EST LEMIEUX (Y) PENS FOREVER 66 27 82

if it wasnt for all the injuries super mario wouldve been greater than gretzky

Hes way better than gretzky that for sure. Theres a fine line between winner and wiener and gretzky is not a winner.

Could Gretzky have done all that he did: 1) In the old Patrick Division? 2)Without Semenko and McSorley as babysitters? 3)Score 199 Points with Troy Loney and Robbie Brown as his wingers? 4)Without all of those Hall of Famers on his team? 5)With 3 guys hanging on his back.. and still beat the hapless goalie? MARIO DID!!!!!

That's the real greatest one in Hockey!!! He don't have so much point as the other, but he had missed lot of games, and his Point per Game stats are very good.

Highly overrated.

Had it not been for all of Mario's injuries, and had he been able to play as long as Gretzky, Mario without a doubt would be the all time point leader. Thats why I feel he should be labeled as the greatest ever.

I would take him over Wayne as best of all-time. His size would have allowed to dominate in any era. He is the only player in history to average over 2 points per game. I though his coming out of retirement would surely jeopardize that feat. I was wrong...he is still amazing. How on earth could anyone challenge Mario's passion for the game? Is that guy talking about the right person here?

supermario is definetly back and ready for the quest for the cup

The most naturally gifted player to ever play the game.

Could have been one of the best. Lost his passion for the game, or possibly never had it..

Mario Lemieux is arguably the best player ever. He's definitely the greatest scorer ever. Gretzky played with all-stars with no pressure in Edmonton. Lemieux was burdened with being labeled the savior, with no surrounding talent, and being compared to Gretzky. Besides, when Gretky was 30 years old, he was a shell of himself. When Lemieux was 30, he was still scoring 60 goals and 160 points. He came back from missing 30 games with cancer to win a scoring title. He single handedly carried Pittsburgh to consecutive cups. Even when Gretzky was in Edmonton, it was Messier who led the way.

Lemieux did stuff every time he played that would appear on the highlight reel night after night. I`ve never seen a player with more natural talent in my life. If you want to argue that fact, then take a look at the way he scored goals and made unbelievable passes. The reason why I think that Lemieux is better than Gretzgy is that gretzgy got all of his points while he was in his prime, while Lemieux never seemed to fall out of his prime......he was super Mario from his first goal to his last.

Best one on one specialist the world has ever seen. Racked up his points during the close-checking early nineties vs Wayne in the high-flying eighties

He is a true class act on and off the Ice more than can be said of whiney wayne.

If not for unfortunate injuries, Super Mario may have gone down in history as the greatest hockey player of all time (at least arguably). He had the highest goals per game average of any nhl'er of all time.

The only "5" other than Gretzky. Lemieux is 2nd best ever. Accomplished what no other player ever did: scored a goal every way possible in a single game -- penalty shot, empty net, power play, shorthanded, even strength. Of not for injuries, he may have surpassed Gretzky, but it seems unlikely.

The only owner in the NHL that is better than any player on the team.

Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky are the two greatest hockey players of all time. The proof of this is not in any statistic or record, but in the legacy each has left. Only time and age could stop these "gods" of hockey.

Mario Lemieux is one of the greatest personalities. He truly cares for the game and the Penguins.