I was in net for...Mario Lemieux's surprise return from cancer treatment

In episode 11 of our series, Rob Pizzo speaks to former Flyers goalie Dominic Roussel about a night he will never forget.
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[@gst013]

Possibly the most amazing offensive season in league history...160 points in 60 games while undergoing cancer treatments. Unbelievable. And fittingly, he averaged 2.666666666666666666666666666666 points per game 👍

[@CBCSports]

The points of the Beast?

[@PH34RB]

A magnificient beast

[@ericrenaud1733]

Not only that, but after missing over 2 months with chemo treatments and surgery, he came back and registered 51 points in 16 games. This man is not human. By far the most talented player I've ever seen.

[@michellezirngibl78]

#66. Best there ever was.

[@19RichieJCook]

Prior to this moment, no one in my family was a hockey fan. Not on my moms or dads side. We were from Philly, and Philly fans thru and thru..and still are. Except for hockey! With so much cancer in our family, it was impossible not to be romantic about Mario Lemieux beating treatment symptoms to come back and surprise the world with excellence while others would be in bed vomiting. How can you not be romantic about hockey ?

[@hemihead001]

Le Magnifique ! He had size , skill , speed and finesse. I still think had he been healthy , he would have owned all the records .

[@apointtomake1517]

In the end I think Gretzky would have the most points via assists, but Lemieux would have the most goals, and right behind 99 in assists and points.

[@trevorlambert4226]

@@apointtomake1517 If Lemieux had been healthy, it's not unreasonable to think he'd have over 3000 points. He missed about 200 games in his prime, when he would have been averaging at least 2.2 points per game, maybe even 2.5 (keep in mind his production was certainly affected by his health issues even when it wasn't keeping him out of the lineup. Then he missed three full years after his first retirement, after which he came back and averaged almost 2 points per game in his first season back. Even if we imagine a 1.5ppg pace during that period, it projects to over 3000. The all time and season assist records would have been safely Gretzky's, but I think all time goals, points and single season goals and points would have belonged to Lemieux.

[@yetiswotstream2539]

I can’t say a bad thing about 99 but 66 is still my forever sports hero. On his best days there’s never been a more scary and dangerous guy on the ice. 100% class act as well

[@Beezer1742]

He would have owned many i think that’s unarguable, but not all

[@jeremyboynowski3784]

I would have LOVED to see Mario break Gretzky's records and take that smug ego away from him lol

[@JanneAirDotCom]

How come this series has so few views? It's excellent. A real inside view on some landmark moments.

[@CBCSports]

A fair question! Tell all your friends, tell the whole bunch!

[@hardcoresports1]

@@CBCSports What he said!!

[@ericmaloney3889]

@@CBCSports - I really don't get it. Your page has nearly 87k subscriptions, but this only has like 5k views.

[@codekhalil6437]

Algorithm perhaps

[@joeheid4757]

@@CBCSports I just discovered this and shared it with 7 people. Hope they subscribe. Excellent channel.

[@sacredalien8011]

Very classy Philly. Always gotta love moments like this when love for the game trumps any hatred and rivalries. I’m sure Mario appreciated it very much.

[@broadstreetbullies849]

As much as we hate our rivals, we do recognize talent, which is also why we gave Mario the standing O after we eliminated the Pens in 1997, as that was his first retirement

[@Nada-vk4pk]

The greatest

[@That90sShow]

Mario Lemieux had 29 goals and 53 points in his last 17 games in 1993 (after chemo). Longest winning streak in NHL history

[@alyours2889]

The one most powerful single entity that ever played ice hockey! (All due respects to the Great One!)

[@pumpkinking5174]

Let's remember the Flyers fans, including me gave Mario a standing ovation when he came back. Also, Dominic is great guy, real good guitar player too!

[@lesschoenberger3070]

Yes that was a class response from them, cheering for a Penguin who hurt them so much over the years. Nice to see it from them.

[@CBCSports]

Agreed - classy all around from all involved. Real nice sports moment.

[@gst013]

How on Earth would you not give the best player in hockey a standing ovation on his return from CANCER?!? Only pieces of absolute human trash wouldn't do it without a thought 😅

[@Sal.K--BC]

"Scratch my back with a hacksaw"

[@joeheid4757]

Great Langeism.

[@johnnyjoey]

Hats off to the Philly fans! Lemieux was exactly that! The best! (hope you understand French)

[@codekhalil6437]

This year may have been the biggest "What if in sports." Mario would have easily had over 200 pts. He was the most dominant any one player could be. Classy guy Dominic Roussel.

[@accidentalsideeffect8800]

What a super cool dude is Dominic Roussel.

[@CBCSports]

Fact!

[@davidpitts5851]

Yea remember when he was a mighty duck when I was a kid

[@SergeiWhobichakokov]

I was at that game. What a thrill! I got to sit three rows behind both benches. As a Pens fan, it was great to see the fans give him the standing ovation .

[@Jovibe3]

Mario Lemieux would've been the Goat of hockey if it wasn't for his health... #66 is My favorite player of all time The Amazing Mario Lemieux

[@CBCSports]

Well said!

[@patientmental875]

Funny that goalies would be in fear & lose sleep the night before playing against Mario! Shows what a beast he really was!

[@CBCSports]

Why so funny?

[@patientmental875]

@@CBCSports Not funny in laughing way

[@CBCSports]

Gotcha. Funny - odd, not funny - haha. 👌

[@whome9111]

Mario is nothing but pure class and that night Philadelphia showed they were also.

[@pondababa4197]

I totally remember checking the paper and just being in amazement....I was a huge Lafontaine fan too, I felt for him, but still one of the most amazing things in sports, Mario catching him.

[@lesschoenberger3070]

Mario just went crazy scoring after he came back, almost like the radiation supercharged him even more! Just incredible, great memories....

[@apointtomake1517]

@@lesschoenberger3070 Yea, unfortunately radiation treatments do the exact opposite of energizing someone, which makes it even more amazing.

[@brettpatterson404]

I had a Dominic Roussel pog in my NHL pogs I bought as a kid.

[@adamdesanti6713]

Great Mario story nuggets here from a classy Dominic Roussel.

[@mikestettenbenz8743]

Super Mario!!!

[@bigjacket7934]

This series is a GREAT idea!! Fantastic topic. Sooo many cool stories... keep on going...

[@CBCSports]

Thank you! Will do!

[@hardcoresports1]

Thanks. Glad you enjoy them!!

[@HockeyRecap]

This is amazing!

[@CBCSports]

Cheers! Thanks for watching!

[@hardcoresports1]

Thanks. Glad you enjoy them!!

[@waltwenzel9549]

This is the best video regarding Mario's return that I have seen. Great to have the opposing goalie speak about that moment.

[@isthiswherewecamein6130]

When people compare Mario and Gretzky, remember this, teams didn't build rosters to stop Gretzky, Not only did teams draft defense to stop Mario, they built an entire scheme around ways to stop him. The Neutral Zone trap. (God, it makes me gag a little bit just saying that.) AND the NHL actually changed rules to allow more clutching and grabbing to slow this guy dow!!! Thats how dominant Mario Lemieux was. And that's the rest of the story!!!

[@markastoforoff7838]

I've been a Leafs fan for almost 50 years but Lemieux is possibly my favourite player of all time. I only saw him play when he played against the Leafs but he was a perfect all around talent. Because I'm a Leafs fan I'm going to put Salming and Gilmour above him but only barely and realistically neither would have been a match for him. If I had been the goalie who let in the first goal he scored after his cancer went into remission or whatever I would have been proud to say I was part of that historic moment too.

[@garyaguiar31]

Great work Rob, these are awesome to watch.

[@CBCSports]

Cheers! Thanks for watching!

[@garyaguiar31]

@@CBCSports also does Rob still do the hockey night in Canada podcast? Watching/listening from Brisbane Australia.

[@hardcoresports1]

@@garyaguiar31 Thanks. Glad you enjoy them! Unfortunately we are no longer doing the HNIC podcast

[@bluetoes591]

@@hardcoresports1 These are great. Stumbled on one a few days ago and have now watches most of them. Some great stories. Stuff like this, I was young 11 I think, so I remember it happening, but none of the details. Forgot how unexpected and dramatic his return was.

[@ryanbender7005]

This is an amazing series thank you - and thanks Mr Roussel for your comments. Mario was truly awesome.

[@myousickoflife]

Philly has heart. Love Park.

[@simonnaylor3536]

This is great. What an amazing time for hockey this was. Goalie has a great attitude about it 👍

[@4inchesofpleasure]

Those soft hands! And that reach! Incredible

[@leinbajr]

Dominic Roussel almost hit me in the head with a clearing pass at a Hershey Bears game. I got the puck, but was pressured to give it up to a younger kid. I was like, “hey, I’m a kid too!” (high school age)

[@politicalbandwagon4989]

Lol, nice.

[@clkclk9117]

Even what he wore to that comeback game was legendary.

[@crowlee5111]

Lemieux was better then Gretzky . If he was healthy he would surpass him or close. The man had cancer and came back and won scoring titles. If he was healthy they would have won a few more ups. The degree of difficulty for his goals are way harder then Gretzky. The man never complained. He saved the penguins. The best story in hockey. Everyone respected him. His size he had the biggest strides and speed that hasn’t been repeated. Once in a life time player. Not greedy or selfish and not cocky. Genuinely the best human and best player. Mario had Jagr and Francis but that’s about it. Oilers had kurri, messier , Anderson, Coffey , fuhr , Lowe and Gretzky.

[@4inchesofpleasure]

Great series! Congrats to whomever came up with that idea

[@CBCSports]

Glad you like it! There's a fresh one coming soon!

[@hardcoresports1]

Thanks. Glad you enjoy them!!

[@EmailBacon]

Please do "I was in net for... Bobby Orrs Stanley cup game winner"

[@nikevisor54]

Would love to see more of these!

[@hardcoresports1]

Thanks. Glad you enjoy them! I'll keep the, coming!

[@CBCSports]

Were glad you're enjoying the series.

[@aprev039]

Philly booed a drunk Santa Claus. You’d do the same.

[@teddyjun1]

Whoops! I thought it was Tommy Soderstrom. I was too young to remember this.

[@srixongolfer3706]

Insane how much more net the players could see back in the days.. Would love to have that back.. Todays goalies have way to much equipment covering the net making it so hard to score.. Ridiculous..🧐

[@kostathomas8732]

Because of new stick and skate technology players now a days can shoot much faster and more precisely, not to mention just how much the game has changed.

[@srixongolfer3706]

@@kostathomas8732 Well, you have a valid point, I do agree with that!👍 But I think the game would benefit to a larger goal cage, more goals, and that would also separate good goalies from the ones not so good..

[@That90sShow]

Insane how much players are hooked, slashed, held, interfered with back then......

[@StFidjnr]

This during the season that Mario had a Hart Trophy type numbers

[@theguywithone]

My old coach used to say when you have a player you can't handle, watch his hips. The hips are the last thing to move out of place. If they're going, left the hips go left if they're going right, the hips go right as long as they have the puck, you can skate right into them and play the puckand hope that one of your teammates is doing their job cleaning up. Doesn't have to be a hit, you just know exactly where he is and is not going.

[@thefozzybear]

I was in net for Darryl Sittler 10 points.

[@CBCSports]

Nice one!

[@KapitanPisoar1]

The like counter now says 668 that is 66 and 68, just keep it like that...

[@709mash]

No shame on being afraid of Mario as a goaltender. He had that effect.

[@JBM425]

The San Jose Sharks were on a road trip in western Canada and actually doing halfway decently. Prior to the game, a Sharks player noticed the Penguins had sent their gear ahead for a game and called their teammates attention to the baggage. The Sharks had been roadkill for Mario and the Penguins that season, and it was said they were so freaked out to see all the Penguins logos on the bags and trunks that they fell apart at that night’s game against a different team.

[@mmoses5272]

Mario's the greatest ever & that 92-93 team is the best Pens team ever too. That's why it was such a shock when the Isles beat us in the 2nd round. It wasn't Francisco Cabrera level shock but still shocking.

[@The-Dom]

brb boys just gonna beat cancer real quick and still win the scoring title. nbd.

[@Chakdefatte194]

As a pens fan, we are bread to hate Philly players and fans. But that night. Philly fans showed most likely the most class from a hated rival fan base ever nhl history. They all knew what they had/were witnessing.

[@ldssggrdssgds6119]

I remember when he came back from retirement and smoked the leafs

[@WilhelmFreidrich]

I'm not a medical doctor, but I would advise against scratching your back with a hacksaw.

[@ProudAmericanValdez]

I root for the Eagles when they play in the Super Bowl because of this ovation.

[@yvonfaub]

Yeah aftrer missing 23 games, he caught up with Lafontaine in less than 5 games if I rememebrer well.

[@Chakdefatte194]

Even Sid/geno don’t get the same treatment. Neither did Jagr.

[@billnipp2309]

I remember when he came back. It was noticeable that opposing teams wouldnt hit him hard or at all. It was very noticeable. ty

[@66smithra]

Because he was impossible to line up. Too much awareness and skating ability.

[@billnipp2309]

@@66smithra I just don’t know about that. They would hit him but gently. Was very noticeable.

[@66smithra]

@@billnipp2309 Haha. Yes, pro players whose livelihoods depended on it, just played him "gently." 😀

[@billnipp2309]

@@66smithra exactly! I remember it clearly. Being a Devils fan, I wanted them to nail him. And in the beginning they all went easy on him. Then after a while the hits got harder then the goons on Pittsburg would step in and fight the dude that hit him. I remember it all clearly. Ty.

[@trent8663]

Who downvoted this? Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, Grrrr!!!

[@vanillagorilla8236]

Back then Chris Therien had 68 under control but 66 no one could stop him then.

[@habbernack6196]

Gretzky 50 goals 39 games, 215 pts in a season. Now if a players gets half that it's a mind blowing season. Bettman sure improved scoring in the NHL. 50 goals now is the old 70 goal season. 40 goals is the old 60 and 30 goals in the new 50.. Philip Danault who scored 47 pts last year turned down a 30 million 6 yr contract.

[@siobhanofarrell4646]

Tell me about it - At the end of Dec. ‘99 Jaromir Jagr was on pace to have a record shattering season. The Hockey News wrote an article on it - he was projected to score 70+ goals, get between 170-180 points and finish roughly 42 points ahead of the guy in second place, making it the largest margin of victory since ‘86-‘87 (?) when 99 beat Mario 183-108. Well, the NHL wasn’t about to let THAT happen. So when the season resumed in Jan ‘00 the refs put away their whistles, and cheap shot artist Mike Peca left Jags with a leg injury that took him out of the lineup for something like 12-15 consecutive games; he was injured for much of the second half of the season, & held on to win the scoring race with 96 points. Thanks for nothing Bettman! Between Bettman, the neutral zone trap, clutching and grabbing, etc. it absolutely DESTROYED offense in the 90s.

[@nottherealpaveldatsyuk_2164]

They also threw batteries at santa...

[@dangc8315]

Roo was one of the weakest flyers goalies. granted he was there during a very bad time

[@joeheid4757]

This may be the only time Philly fans showed any class. Prove me wrong.

[@TS-yc2do]

Big Mario fan since I am a Pens fan but can we just admit that goalies and defence back then when he and Gretzey played sucked compared to right now?

[@davidbauer8515]

All you can do is look at how good these guys were compared to their peers in the time that they played. You also have to consider that Mario was 6'4 225 with absolute jets and maybe the softest hands ever with one of the best shots ever. If he came up TODAY with today's training methods and equipment he would still be lapping the field as he was back then. It's like Jim Brown in football, Wilt Chamberlain in basketball, and Mario in hockey. Put them in any other era and they'd still be unstoppable.

[@arock1999]

but players like that were so smart and skilled they would still lead the league in scoring if they had come into today's NHL and likely by what would be considered a wide margin in today's NHL

[@That90sShow]

Mario had 1.8 points per game in 2001 at 35 years old.. Bigger goalies, no 2 line passes, wooden sticks, obstruction, hooking, holding allowed.... Weird....

[@vicdamon3551]

It’s bad a goal not matter what. Sorry bud you were cheating

[@kristophercantu9935]

AWESOME 👍

[@srixongolfer3706]

Insane how much more net the players could see back in the days.. Would love to have that back.. Todays goalies have way to much equipment covering the net making it so hard to score.. Ridiculous..🧐

[@Infoseek777]

And there's been an effort over the past years DECREASING the size of goalie equipment.....

[@That90sShow]

Goalie equipment was bigger in 2001 then now... Mario had 35 goals in 43 games

[@robertosavard6750]

Sauf que dans le hockey d aujourd hui meme si les gardiens sont plus gros et plus athlétiques,avec du hockey sans accrochages,tu imagine un Mario a son top jouer sans se faire accrocher? Ce serait grandiose

[@siobhanofarrell4646]

@@robertosavard6750I would have loved to be able to see what Mario AND Jaromir Jagr could have accomplished if they’d been able to play during the run and gun early 80s.

[@robertosavard6750]

@@siobhanofarrell4646 je les ai vus jouer ensemble et pour moi Lemieux et Jagr ont ete le meilleur duo si on parle de talent brute. Ils se completaient a merveille.