Lemieux Hints at comeback
Jul 29, 2003 13:15:45 GMT -5
Post by ED on Jul 29, 2003 13:15:45 GMT -5
www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=48770&hubName=nhl
Lemieux hints at coming back
Canadian Press
7/28/2003
WHEELING, W.Va. (CP) - Mario Lemieux is expected to announce this week that he'll play another NHL season.
``If I feel 100 per cent physically and mentally, I'd love to play,'' he said Monday.
Asked if he's feeling close to 100 per cent on both of those counts, he answered in the affirmative.
``Absolutely, yeah,'' Lemieux told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review during a Penguins alumni golf outing. ``After a couple months of rest, I recharged the battery and feel pretty good.''
Lemieux, 37, the all-time NHL leader in points per game who also is the Penguins' owner, began an off-ice training program six weeks ago. He plans to hit the ice the third week of August, which gives him three weeks of preparation before training camp.
Jay Caufield, the former Penguins defenceman who has conducted on-ice workouts with Lemieux since the latter came out of retirement in December 2000, said Lemieux appears to be fit and ready for another NHL season.
``I'm preparing as if he's coming back,'' said Caufield. ``I know he's in shape and ready to play.
``But it's not something we've discussed.''
Penguins fans have been in suspense about Lemieux's playing status since the end of last season. He was expected to make his decision early this month, but an announcement never came.
There remains a chance that he'll retire, though he gave the impression Monday he still has the drive to be one of the league's elite players.
``Workouts are a lot tougher now,'' Lemieux said. ``Once you get to be 37, 38 years old, it's a different regimen and you have to work harder at it.
``But it's something I enjoy doing now. Earlier in my career, I didn't work out much, but now I feel it's important to work out year-round if you want to be one of the top players in the league.''
If he chooses to return, Lemieux said he'd prefer to play in every game next season, as opposed to sitting out from time to time to give his body a rest. He also added that he's never entertained the thought of playing for any team other than the Penguins, who made him the first overall draft pick in 1984. Several published reports linked Lemieux to other franchises, including the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens.
The Penguins have taken on a new form since the conclusion of last season, when they failed to reach the postseason for the second consecutive year. They fired coach Rick Kehoe, president Tom Rooney and Wilkes-Barre, Pa., AHL coach Glenn Patrick, the brother of Penguins general manager Craig Patrick.
Ed Olczyk replaced Kehoe, Ken Sawyer took over as president and Michel Therrien became the new coach at Wilkes-Barre, the team's minor-league affiliate.
``I think we're going in the right direction,'' Lemieux said.
Lemieux hints at coming back
Canadian Press
7/28/2003
WHEELING, W.Va. (CP) - Mario Lemieux is expected to announce this week that he'll play another NHL season.
``If I feel 100 per cent physically and mentally, I'd love to play,'' he said Monday.
Asked if he's feeling close to 100 per cent on both of those counts, he answered in the affirmative.
``Absolutely, yeah,'' Lemieux told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review during a Penguins alumni golf outing. ``After a couple months of rest, I recharged the battery and feel pretty good.''
Lemieux, 37, the all-time NHL leader in points per game who also is the Penguins' owner, began an off-ice training program six weeks ago. He plans to hit the ice the third week of August, which gives him three weeks of preparation before training camp.
Jay Caufield, the former Penguins defenceman who has conducted on-ice workouts with Lemieux since the latter came out of retirement in December 2000, said Lemieux appears to be fit and ready for another NHL season.
``I'm preparing as if he's coming back,'' said Caufield. ``I know he's in shape and ready to play.
``But it's not something we've discussed.''
Penguins fans have been in suspense about Lemieux's playing status since the end of last season. He was expected to make his decision early this month, but an announcement never came.
There remains a chance that he'll retire, though he gave the impression Monday he still has the drive to be one of the league's elite players.
``Workouts are a lot tougher now,'' Lemieux said. ``Once you get to be 37, 38 years old, it's a different regimen and you have to work harder at it.
``But it's something I enjoy doing now. Earlier in my career, I didn't work out much, but now I feel it's important to work out year-round if you want to be one of the top players in the league.''
If he chooses to return, Lemieux said he'd prefer to play in every game next season, as opposed to sitting out from time to time to give his body a rest. He also added that he's never entertained the thought of playing for any team other than the Penguins, who made him the first overall draft pick in 1984. Several published reports linked Lemieux to other franchises, including the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens.
The Penguins have taken on a new form since the conclusion of last season, when they failed to reach the postseason for the second consecutive year. They fired coach Rick Kehoe, president Tom Rooney and Wilkes-Barre, Pa., AHL coach Glenn Patrick, the brother of Penguins general manager Craig Patrick.
Ed Olczyk replaced Kehoe, Ken Sawyer took over as president and Michel Therrien became the new coach at Wilkes-Barre, the team's minor-league affiliate.
``I think we're going in the right direction,'' Lemieux said.