{"id":4851,"date":"2017-01-02T16:47:25","date_gmt":"2017-01-02T21:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=4851"},"modified":"2017-02-23T17:10:07","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T22:10:07","slug":"mario-lemieux-nordiques-historical-examination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/01\/02\/mario-lemieux-nordiques-historical-examination\/","title":{"rendered":"Mario Lemieux Lemieux to the Nordiques: A Historical Examination"},"content":{"rendered":"

The date was April 27, 1985. The Pittsburgh Penguins current hockey star, Sidney Crosby<\/a><\/strong>, wasn’t even born. Times in Pittsburgh were tough, but Mario Lemieux<\/a><\/strong> was beginning to alter the landscape of hockey in the city.<\/p>\n

Mario Lemieux to the Nordiques: A Historical Examination<\/h2>\n

Rumours began to circulate around the NHL that teams were interested in securing Lemieux’s\u00a0rights. The Penguins were experiencing a cash crunch, the sharks smelled blood and began circling the igloo.<\/p>\n

Speculation began to arise at what the cost would be to acquire Lemieux, and why would there not be? Lemieux had just finished up his Calder-winning rookie campaign\u00a0after scoring 100 points in 73 games.<\/p>\n

A Marketer’s Dream<\/h3>\n

So when the Carling O\u2019Keefe Brewing Company, owner of the Quebec Nordiques, suggested that the rights to Lemieux were worth around $5 million, people listened.<\/p>\n

His rookie\u00a0contract was worth approximately $850,000.\u00a0So what would make Lemieux worth $5 million? His popularity in Quebec and the marketing potential that followed behind made him worth that much.<\/p>\n

Marketing a Quebec-born\u00a0player of\u00a0his caliber to a Qu\u00e9becois\u00a0audience provided many exciting possibilities.<\/p>\n

Another reason O\u2019Keefe was interested in acquiring Lemieux was they wanted to put him on the same team as fellow Qu\u00e9becois\u00a0and all-time great Michel Goulet<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Imagine the nightmares those two would have caused for goaltenders around the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoulet \u00e0 Lemieux. Il tire, et il marque!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A team housing two\u00a0of the best Qu\u00e9becois\u00a0players would have not\u00a0only elevated the status of the Nordiques to an elite level, but also have provided\u00a0some much-needed levity to the battle of Quebec between the Nordiques and the Montreal Canadiens.<\/p>\n

Nordiques President Marcel Aubut<\/strong> was questioned about the possibility of the O\u2019Keefe deal coming to pass. He simply answered: \u201cI don\u2019t think John Ziegler<\/strong> would even allow a trade involving the Penguins.” Ziegler was the NHL President at the time.<\/p>\n

Many, still felt that the tension between the Penguins and Lemieux, and the current financial situation of the Penguins would necessitate a trade to the Nordiques. But it would not transpire.<\/p>\n

So that was that. Then end of the Lemieux and the Nordiques\u00a0romance. Over as quick as it began, as many great relationships are. And who knows, maybe the Nordiques would still be around if they had a superstar like Lemieux.<\/p>\n

Main Photo.<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n