Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux

Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux. Two players who's hockey fates are unarguably tied to greatness and both tied to the Penguins. Mario was the superstar of the 90's, winning two Stanley Cups to usher in a period of hockey fandom in the 'City of Champions.' But after Mario retired and the team began to fall apart and creep into obscurity again, it took a lot of luck (some would say a fix) for the Penguins to get their second superstar leader of the team in Sidney Crosby. Both are great players, and both have served as the Captain of this team. But how similar are these players?

Mario Lemieux was the heart and soul of the Pittsburgh Penguins for many years. He saved the team from disappearing twice. In case you can't tell, I'm a bit biased. However, there is a point to all this. So for the sake of this article, lets stick to the playing career of both players.

Mario Lemieux, the player, was one of, if not the, best players of all time. From scoring on his first shot of his first shift in the NHL, to a career regular season average of almost 2 pts/game (a little over 1.88 over 915 games), "Super" Mario was the definition of a superstar. What set him apart was how easy he always made it look.

Sidney Crosby is generally agreed to be the best player, currently playing, in the world. The entire league has watched as he grew from the whiny, easily agitated kid into the dominant leader that he is now. While not at a 2 point per game pace, he's still over 1 in the regular season, currently at about 1.41 points per game (in 470 games), a very respectable number.

Both players have performed admirably in the playoffs, Lemieux with the edge, having averaged about 1.60 ppg (107 games) in the playoffs; Crosby is sitting at 1.28 (82 games).

However, watching the two players play their game is a very different experience. Mario made it look easy, scored in ways he shouldn't have been able to (see shots from below the goal line, off the goalies inside leg), and was essentially able to single-handedly will his team to win. Everyone always says that hockey is a team sport, that no one player can make or break a game. I feel that true superstars, such as a Lemieux or Gretzky had the ability to do this.

One thing that we can't compare between Lemieux and Crosby is the quality of competition. While there is much more parity in the NHL right now than in Lemieux's heyday, the game is built for finesse and skill now, with a lot of the 'clutch and grab' hockey having disappeared from the game. Goaltenders are better now, but Lemieux did play against two of the best ever in their prime in Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur (Ron Hextall wasn't too bad either). Mario fought through career threatening Hodgkin's Disease; Crosby fought career-threatening concussions. So unfortunately these factors can't be taken into consideration, but who knows, maybe in some crazy way it evens out.

But with all these stats and numbers and (ugh) math, the best way to compare these players is the eye test. Watch Mario Lemieux, he is visible every shift. He's the best player on the ice and it seems like there is no way to stop him a good deal of the time. Watch Sidney Crosby, similarly he's always visible, but not because of his smooth moves or scoring prowess, but rather his work ethic and his hockey smarts.

When it comes down to it, both are greatly talented players, but Sidney Crosby probably compares a lot closer to a Steve Yzerman than a Mario Lemieux. And maybe that's not surprising. Yzerman was Crosby's favorite player growing up. Looking at Crosby, it's not hard to draw the comparisons, either. Both are/were lead-by-example captains, both were very smart and very defensively responsible players and regarded as great captains.

So maybe Mario and Sidney aren't the same type of player. Really that's okay. Lemieux truly was a generational talent (kind of wonder how we got him and Gretzky), and it's probably unfair to put those kind of expectations on a player who just doesn't play the same type of game. Looking at Crosby and watching his work ethic, how he seemingly never gives up on a play, how he does all the little things and still plays like a grinder when he needs to, despite being a star...Well, maybe Crosby is exactly the blue-collar superstar that fits the City of Pittsburgh's personality.