I’m not a Pens fan, but Lemieux definitely had it harder than some other players. If you watched both him and Gretzky play, it was evident that there were unwritten rules players and/or refs followed for Gretzky that didn’t apply for Lemieux. It’s not like nothing similar happen before... Maurice Richard definitely didn’t benefit of the same advantages other superstars of his era did.
I grew up watching Gretzky and Lemieuxs careers (as a die hard edmonton fan).
Gretz used opposition interference and shadowing to bait players out of position.
Lemieux overpowered players with speed, size, and finesse (Gretzky had none of those).
The gameplan used on Mario (intense interference) couldn't be used as easily on Gretzky.
When Gretzky didn't have the puck, he wasn't anywhere near the play most of the time. He basically did everything he could to draw attention bait as many players as he could to be completely out of position.
Gretzky was playing chess.
His "office" was behind the net. You think opposing defenders would be stupid enough to chase the greatest passer of all time with the best vision in history? He DARED you to come after him. with or without the puck.