MONTREAL – That the Montreal Canadiens would covet the services of Mano Lemieux, whom the Penguins selected with the first pick in yesterday's National Hockey League draft, hardly qualifies as a surprise of cosmic proportion.

Lemieux, after all, honed his skills in the suburb of Ville Emard and; has fascinated an entire province, if not country, with his unparalleled scoring feats in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The Montreal legacy is that of a game known as Firewagon Hockey, fast, exciting, high-scoring. Those same terms appear with considerable frequency on the resume of Mario Lemieux.

So, indeed, it is not shocking to learn the Canadiens tried to obtain the draft pick that would allow them to put Lemieux in the bleu, blanc et rouge sweater that is a veritable icon here.

But it is more than a bit telling — and noteworthy — when it is considered Montreal tried to obtain the draft pick three years ago.

On Dec. 21, 1981, the Canadiens traded center Pierre Larouche to Hartford for the Whalers' second-round pick in the 1984 draft — along with an exchange of first-rounders.

Montreal projected the Whalers to be the league's worst team this year and, as such, expected Hartford to own the first pick.

Instead, the Whalers had the fifth-worst record in the league, while the Penguins collapsed like a water-logged tissue.

The Penguins settled to the bottom of the standings — and rose to the top of the draft order.

And at the top of the Penguins' draft list – and that of virtually every other team — was but one name, capitalized and underlined: Mario Lemieux.

“Mario Lemieux is the most talented player in the draft by a mile,” Edmonton Oilers Player Personnel Director Barry Fraser said.

“There's no question about it,” said Detroit General Manager Jimmy Devellano. “He's certainly the No. l-rated player.”

And now he is the No. 1 drafted player and, once the stalemate over his contract is resolved, will begin his NHL career on Centre Avenue rather than Ste. Catherines Street.

The only question remaining is just how long — and how productive – that career will be.

“He can either be a bust or a booming success,” Fraser said.

Observers given to hyperbole liken Lemieux to Edmonton center Wayne Gretzky, the most potent offensive force in the history of the sport.

“I would compare him to Gretzky,” Albert Mandanici, the Penguins' Quebec scout, said. “But Gretzky is probably faster.”

Others, though, whisper that Lemieux's 133 goals and 282 points for Laval last season were distortions stemming from the style and caliber of play in the QMJHL and that Lemieux's sweat glands, if they exist, are not taxed on a regular basis.

But several points about Lemieux defy contention. He is large — 6-4, 200 pounds – and figures to get larger. He can throw a soft pass that would not crack crystal or unleash a hard one that would be followed by a vapor trail. His wrist shot suggests nothing if not a heat-seeking missile.

“He passes the puck always on the stick,” Mandanici said. “Not on the heel or the toe, always in the middle of the stick.”

But while Lemieux's offensive skills may defy description, his defensive shortcomings nearly defy belief. He tends to treat the defensive end of the rink as if it were a minefield; he'll venture there on occasion, but with considerable reluctance. “He might be a little bit slow to come back,” Mandanici said.
“He's like on vacation to come back and backcheck.”

“Pittsburgh is going to pay me to score goals and not to play defensively,” he said. “I think they want me to score goals and not to think about my defensive play.”

There are many who believe asking Lemieux to play defense is akin to expecting Sinatra to sell popcorn during intermission.

“We're not talking about defense when you've got the puck,” Quebec Nordiques Coach Michel Bergeron said.

“Whenever he's on the ice. he's got the puck all the time, so defense isn't much of a problem,” Mandanici said.

That has been the case since Lemieux picked up his first sawed-off hockey stick.

“They gave him the puck when he was 9 years old,” Fraser said, “and he's had it ever since.”

The same is true of most high-scoring centers, including the three to whom Lemieux is compared most frequently: Gretzky, former Montreal great Jean Beliveau and former Boston all-star Phil Esposito.

“Phil Esposito would be a very good comparison,” said Penguins General Manager Eddie Johnston, Esposito's teammate on the Bruins' championship teams from the early 1970's.

“They both can carry the puck and they both protect the puck very well. They're big, dominant players with great skills.”

“There are similarities with Beliveau,” Mandanici said. “But Mario has better moves.”

That such comparisons even are considered, Johnston said, refutes those who believe Lemieux in not willing to work for success.

“How can you question that when he got almost 300 points this year?” he said. “And he had to carry the load himself. He had to play 40, 45 minutes a game, so I'm not worried about that.”

“Lazy? I don't think so.” Mandanici said. “A guy who is 6-4, be looks lazy, but I don't think he is.”

That, for the sake of the Penguins' franchise, had better be true Lemieux is expected to provide a fresh cornerstone for a team that has deteriorated for most of its 17 years.

“Lemieux has gone to one of the biggest challenges in this draft,” Fraser said. That is an understatement of considerable magnitude, since frustration and disappointment almost assuredly will be Lemieux's regular companions, if not linemates.

“I'm not alone,” Lemieux said. “A team is 20 players and you have to work together to win.”
Just the way it's always been done in Montreal.

By Dave Molinari
The Pittsburgh Press