Mad World
'Mario'-Go-Round Continues For Lemieux
By Mark Madden

It's a question that has puzzled Penguins coaches since 1984-Who should skate on Mario Lemieux's line?

The debate raged as of this writing. Alexei Kovalev and Aleksey Morozov had just been taken off Lemieux duty; Alexandre Daigle and Marty Straka were about to take over. This marks the first time that Lemieux has, in a single season, skated with three linemates that all use a different derivative of the name "Alexander." Joker, joker...it's a triple! I believe Alex Trebek once hosted that show. Spooky.

Playing on Lemieux's line is no guarantee of prosperity. OK, so Super Mario took a guy with a really bad hair weave and made him a star. (See Brown, Rob.) Same goes for a journeyman who looked a lot like Frankenstein on skates. (See Young, Warren.) But some Lemieux linemates have been so bad that even No. 66 couldn't elevate them. (See Gatzos, Steve. Or Giffin, Lee.)

So, who to play with Lemieux? At 37, Lemieux is no longer a star-maker. He needs partners, not proteges. And he needs the right partners, otherwise the Penguins are going nowhere.

The candidates:

o   Alexandre Daigle: He's French. For whatever reason, that seems to be important. He can skate. For very tangible reasons, that is important. A player like Daigle may-even more than most-benefit from the adrenaline that being a Mario linemate provides. Daigle unabashedly talks about Lemieux being his hockey hero and therefore seems unlikely to let him down. Whether Lemieux can inspire Daigle to somehow find the offensive touch that made him the first pick overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft remains to be seen. Daigle is, frankly, far from my first choice to be a Lemieux linemate. I sure would like to hear those Pam Anderson stories, though.

o   Jan Hrdina: Forecheck the corner. Backcheck the slot. Repeat as necessary. One Lemieux linemate must do that-and like it-and few have embraced that job like Hrdina. Hrdina is also good on faceoffs, which means Lemieux can pick his spots with that duty. Hrdina is an absolutely tireless worker with good offensive sense and skills. One problem: He doesn't like to shoot. Given Lemieux's new job as the NHL's best playmaker, that's a definite minus. Hrdina is nonetheless a viable candidate.

o   Alexei Kovalev: Kovalev and Lemieux have been split up, the story goes, because they're too similar. They both like to carry the puck. That may be. But sweet sassy molassy, they sure were scoring a lot of goals together. Kovalev is one of the top five offensive players in the NHL. His presence as a linemate takes some opposition defenders away from Lemieux. When Lemieux passes, there's no one better than Kovalev to have on the other end. Besides Mario, Kovy is the Penguins' best finisher.

o   Aleksey Morozov: He's a streaky scorer, which may frustrate Lemieux. But, as a first-round draft pick in 1995, he has a pedigree. His talents are obvious. All Morozov ever needed was confidence, and he has confidence aplenty when he skates with Mario. Morozov playing with Lemieux is reminiscent of Markus Naslund's tenure as No. 66's linemate back in 1995-96: He can get points, but is that enough? Of course it is, but don't be surprised if Morozov gets traded for Alek Stojanov anyway. Hey..."Alek." Hmmm...

o   Marty Straka: Straka has more speed than anyone on the Pens. He dominates the corners based on getting there first, he's more than responsible in his own zone, and has toughness that goes far beyond his size. He's not a great finisher, but his work rate and offensive instincts combine to get him a lot of chances.

Well, it's time to tally the votes. Who should be Lemieux's linemates?

While I really liked the Lemieux-Kovalev-Morozov troika, I can see the need to split up Lemieux and Kovalev. Straka is an easy first choice as a Lemieux linemate. Everything Lemieux can't do - or prefers not to do - Straka does extremely well.

I would round out the line with Morozov. Sure, Daigle is also a first-round draft choice, but he wasn't chosen by the Penguins. The Pens don't need to justify that selection. The Penguins have, however, invested a lot of time and money in Morozov, and if playing with Lemieux is what's required to get the most out of No. 95, so be it.

The bottom line, though, is this-the Penguins need to do whatever is necessary to maximize Lemieux's talents. If Straka and Daigle get it done, leave them there. If they don't, go back to Kovalev and Morozov. If necessary, try Hrdina again. But superserve Super Mario. Because that will only serve the Penguins well.

Mark Madden hosts a sports talk show 3-7 p.m. weekdays on ESPN Radio 1250.