What if Lemieux was in his prime today?

[Passchendaele]

I'm positive this has been made many times, but anyway..

What would he be able to accomplish? Could he still make dmen look like ECHL dmen on a regular basis?

I haven't seen Lemieux play pre-2001, but I'd think he wasn't as fast on his skates as he was before the comeback in late 2000.

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[JaymzB]

70 goals, 60-80 assists (depending on linemates).

 

[Franck]

Could he still make dmen look like ECHL dmen on a regular basis?

Yes. He would be the best player in the league by a significant margin.

A healthy, prime Lemieux probably scores 160-180 points in the NHL of today.

 

[YNWA14]

Prime Lemieux probably puts up around 130 - 140 on a consistent basis in today's NHL with maybe a few 150ish seasons. I also think this is the best any player could do. I wouldn't expect either Gretzky or Orr to do better.

 

[edog37]

a prime Lemieux would rack 220+ points easily in today's NHL. No red line, supposedly no clutch & grab, puck moving defensemen vs stay at home types. No problems.

 

[Reds4Life]

Other than scoring a lot of points, he'd probably dive less.

 

[tarheelhockey]

He'd be the best player in the league for certain. 130 points would be a low-end season.

 

[Ozz]

The Pens would have won the Cup already.

 

[edog37]

He'd be the best player in the league for certain. 130 points would be a low-end season.

Prime Lemieux with Crosby & Malkin would be utter destruction on the rest of the league.....

 

[edog37]

The Pens would have won the Cup already.

they would have won several Cups starting with Crosby's 3rd year....

 

[Badger36]

I dont see him being as dominant as some of you do. He would be good, probably one of the top players in the league but I dont see him blowing Ovi, Sid or Stamkos away.

 

[Eisen]

He would tear the league apart.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I dont see him being as dominant as some of you do. He would be good, probably one of the top players in the league but I dont see him blowing Ovi, Sid or Stamkos away.

Crosby might begin to sniff Lemieux's level when he's healthy and at the top of his game, partly because he's a different style of player and therefore brings a different set of elements to the table.

But Ovi and Stamkos? Come on now. Prime Mario was a friggin' 85-goal scorer AND matched Gretzky for the league lead in assists the same year. He scored 1/3rd more points than anyone else not named Gretzky... that's like dropping a 130-point season on the league today.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Well we don't have to imagine that much. He got 122 points in 76 games in an already lower scoring 96/97 season, and that was his last year before his health forced him to retire the first time. Then, the first three years after he got back from retirement, 2000 to 2003 so dead puck era for sure, he had a league-leading 1.48 points per game as a 35-38 year old. Better than Forsberg, Jagr, Sakic, Thornton and Co. To me that's even more amazing than the 160 in 60 or the 199 in 76.

A pre-cancer, pre-back spasms, absolute fit Lemieux would torch today's league. 150-160 points would easily be possible.

 

[LeBlondeDemon10]

He scored probably 60 points a year not moving more than 2 mph or standing still. How that would fit in today's game, I don't know. But that doesn't mean he wouldn't adapt. He learned to adapt after the slash from Graves. A great player will be great in any era.

 

[OrrNumber4]

While I do not doubt he would torch the league, I do think his playoff success might be diminished in relative terms: in today's fast-paced NHL where players can't afford to take games off, a guy with relatively poor conditioning like Lemieux might burn out early, or at the very least, get labeled as a guy who takes nights off frequently (like Getzlaf today). He might suffer like Malkin suffered in '08...

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

A great player will be great in any era.

Well I don't know any era in which the combination of size and great skill in pretty much every offensive aspect he brought to the table wouldn't be dominant. And when young and healthy he was a pretty good skater with amazing balance, too.

If I sound just a bit fanboyish here, I can honestly say I don't like the Penguins and thought Lemieux always was a bit of a whiner, it's just that you are talking about a guy who managed to get a debate going in the late 80s on whether you'd take him or Gretzky.

 

[BraveCanadian]

He'd be the best player in the league by a significant margin.

Apart from having immense physical skills, Lemieux also had that special vision on the ice.

With obstruction actually being called and his incredible ability on the powerplay, he'd probably top out in the 160-180 range.

 

[revolverjgw]

Hard to say. He'd be growing up in and advancing through a very different environment... it's likely he'd put a lot more effort into conditioning and training, probably wouldn't be smoking or eating so much junk... he'd most likely be much better than he was, quite easily the best in the league. Regardless, it's harder to lap the field now, so I think he'd get about 135-140 points a year, maybe top out at 150 in the right situation.

 

[Sens Rule]

I dont see him being as dominant as some of you do. He would be good, probably one of the top players in the league but I dont see him blowing Ovi, Sid or Stamkos away.

Then you never saw him play at his best.

 

[LeBlondeDemon10]

Hard to say. He'd be growing up in and advancing through a very different environment... it's likely he'd put a lot more effort into conditioning and training, probably wouldn't be smoking or eating so much junk... he'd most likely be much better than he was, quite easily the best in the league. Regardless, it's harder to lap the field now, so I think he'd get about 135-140 points a year, maybe top out at 150 in the right situation.

How much did he smoke? How do you know he ate junk? I'm sure there are a few in today's game. In the 70's, smoking was big, but I think alcohol was a much bigger factor. You didn't hydrate after a game, you drank beer.

 

[lextune]

He would rip this league apart.

A league that has Ovechkin scoring 65 and Crosby putting up 120 points would see Mario would break 200+ points every year.

 

[JackSlater]

I would expect 150 points or so. In a peak year with a great set of linemates I would guess Lemieux could put up over 160 points.

 

[Hardyvan123]

He would rip this league apart.

A league that has Ovechkin scoring 65 and Crosby putting up 120 points would see Mario would break 200+ points every year.

The posts were surprisingly reasonable and then this.

His absolute peak was 199 points and even on a PPG basis he only averaged over 200 points 2 times.

His 3rd best PPG average was just under 190 points.

Last year the highest scoring team only scored 262 goals.

Washington had close to 320 the year before and Detroit 290ish.

As great as Lemiuex was it's highly improbable that he would ever score 200 in today's game even if a coach let him cherry pick.

my best guess is the 140ish mark depending on team, teammates and situation and that would be peak.

The game is really much more "tight" than it was when Mario played.

 

[Bjorn Le]

He would rip this league apart.

A league that has Ovechkin scoring 65 and Crosby putting up 120 points would see Mario would break 200+ points every year.

Thats absurd. He'd likely not break 150.

I see him as a consistent 140 point scorer today, which blows everyone out anyway, but nothing north of 160.