Up Close with PSR
Mario Lemieux

PSR: You said while formally announcing your return that this would be the easiest of your comebacks. Has it been?

Mario: I think physically it's been the easiest, because I was able to train so hard for a couple months when my back was in decent shape. I was able to make progress.

PSR: You had some very definite thoughts about the game while watching it from the owner's box the last couple of seasons. Have any of those feelings changed now that you've been on the ice for three months?

Mario: Yeah, a little bit. I think the game is always changing, and it certainly was a lot more open early in the season and getting called a lot closer. It seems like every year you get close to the playoffs, it seems the referees are not calling it as closely as they were early in the season. Everybody is fighting for a playoff spot; that might be one reason for it.

PSR: You always have to work on your back. Are you doing anything differently this time around?

Mario: I'm doing a lot more stretching. I never used to be a guy that stretched every day, but now I'm stretching two and three times a day. That's the key, to elongate the muscles and make sure they're nice and loose.

PSR: The first month of your comeback you said your legs still had a way to go. Are they there yet?

Mario: They've been on and off, but I guess overall my legs are feeling much better. I'm able to challenge defensemen a little more one-on-one. That's always a good sign.

PSR: Are you having fun?

Mario: That's a big part of it. If you're not having fun you shouldn't be doing it. I certainly thought about coming back for a while, and I decided to do it and have fun with it.

PSR: The teams here in the early '90s, they could beat you 8-6 or 2-1 if they had to. This team seems still to be learning how to do that.

Mario: We keep talking about it, but it's just a matter of putting our minds to it, committing to it. If we can do it. . . we can win the wide open games. The key for us is when there's a tight-checking game, we've got to be able to win those, too.

PSR: What are the most important things for this team to be able to do if it wants a long run in the playoffs this spring?

Mario: We just have to keep working on playing good team defense. That's the key for us. We have enough offensive talent and firepower to score goals every night, but to play good defense. . . that's what is going to win us a championship.

PSR: Is the two-referee system working?

Mario: Yeah, I think so. I think it's better than just one. They're able to see the ice better. The game is so fast now that one referee is certainly not enough. But we still have a lot of room to improve.

PSR: You've played before a sellout crowd in every game so far this season. What does that mean to you?

Mario: It feels good. I'm excited that the people out there are excited about seeing me play. It makes me feel good.

PSR: Jaromir Jagr's future here has been the subject of much speculation. As a player, obviously, you'd love to have him, but as a businessman you also know that you can't always afford what you want. That puts you in kind of a tough position.

Mario: It's always difficult, because Jaromir has been a good friend for many years since he got here. He's a great guy and the best player in the world. So if there's any possibility that we can keep him here forever, that's always been my goal. But as you know, the economics of the game are very difficult, especially here in Pittsburgh. The team was in bankruptcy a couple years ago; we certainly don't want to go back there.

PSR: The lockout of 1994 killed this team financially. How worried are you that another labor problem is on the horizon for 2004, and given your unique status in the game, can you be a factor, perhaps along with Gretzky, in achieving labor peace?

Mario: I'm going to do whatever it takes from both sides to bring the two parties together. On the ownership side, I have a big stake there. Also with the players. . . whatever the league wants me to do, whatever the NHL Players Association wants me to do, I'll be glad to do.

PSR: You're winning a ton of faceoffs. That's never been a strength of yours. Why the change?

Mario: I don't know. It's just maybe paying a little bit more attention to it and having a little bit of pride in it.

PSR: Another big off-ice challenge you have is getting a new arena built. Given the public reaction to what happened with the new baseball and football stadiums, might the environment for this kind of development make it even harder to pull off?

Mario: It's a big challenge. It's a big challenge everywhere, not only in Pittsburgh. You talk to anybody that's built a new arena in the last four or five years, it's been a battle everywhere. You read about it in Phoenix. It's not easy to get people to agree, but hopefully when the new stadiums open and people see how great they are, maybe that will have an impact.