When Mario Lemieux retired from playing hockey in the National Hockey League for the final time on January 24, 2006 Penguins fans thought the NHL should retire his number 66 the same way Wayne Gretzky’s number 99 is retired. Even though it hasn't officially been retired, there seemed to be an unwritten rule that no one would wear 66, as no one has until this year when 20-year-old Calgary Flames defenseman T.J. Brodie put the number 66 on his sweater.
The time is now for the NHL to give Lemieux the respect he deserves and retire his number. No one can argue that Lemieux's numbers are better than Gretzky's, but Mario’s career is deserving of this honor as well. Lemieux won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year, has two Stanley Cup rings as a player (winning the Conn Smythe Trophy both times), six Art Ross Trophies, three Hart Trophies, four Lester Pearson, and one Bill Masterton Trophy, and one Stanley Cup ring as an owner. He single handily made hockey relevant in Pittsburgh and made the moribund Penguins into Stanley Cup Champions.
Mario’s stats would be a lot better if he had not spent three years retired during t ...
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Article written by Phil Dillon
NHL: Honor Mario Lemieux and Retire His Number 66
October 10th, 2010 by Phil Dillon Leave a reply »
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