Editing Mario Lemieux (section)

===1984–1988: Early career===
At the start of Lemieux's career, the Penguins were in financial turmoil and there were rumors of [[Relocation of professional sports teams|relocation]]. The team had declared bankruptcy after the [[1974–75 NHL season|1974–75 season]], and by 1983, they were averaging fewer than 7,000 fans per game—less than half of the Civic Arena's capacity.<ref name="OntheIce"/> They had not made the playoffs since 1982, and had not had a winning season since 1979.

He debuted on October 11, 1984, against the [[Boston Bruins]], and on his first shift, he stole the puck from Hall of Fame defenceman [[Ray Bourque]] and scored a goal with his first NHL shot against [[Pete Peeters]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=10600&hubname= |title=Mario Lemieux Retires |publisher=TSN |access-date=September 21, 2007 |archive-date=September 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929102952/http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=10600&hubname= |url-status=live }}</ref> Later that season, Lemieux played in the [[National Hockey League All-Star Game|NHL All-Star Game]] and became the first rookie to be named the All-Star Game's [[Most Valuable Player]]. Despite missing seven games during the season, Lemieux scored 100 points and won the [[Calder Memorial Trophy]] as the rookie of the year.

[[1985–86 NHL season|The next season]], Lemieux finished second in league scoring with 141 points, behind [[Wayne Gretzky]]'s NHL-record 215 points. He won the [[Lester B. Pearson Award]] as the NHL's best regular-season player as voted by his peers. Lemieux missed 17 games of the [[1986–87 NHL season]]—his point production slipped, and the Penguins once again failed to make the playoffs. However, he played in the [[Canada Cup (ice hockey)|Canada Cup]] during the summer of 1987 and set a tournament record 11 goals in 9 games; his last goal, which clinched the Canadian victory, broke a tie with the Soviet team with 1:26 remaining in the third period. Lemieux cited his Canada Cup experience as the reason for his elevated play later on, stating, "Remember, I was only 21 years old at the time. To be around guys like Wayne [Gretzky] and Mark Messier and Paul Coffey ... was a tremendous learning experience."<ref name="hhof interview">{{cite web|url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/spot_oneononep199701.htm |title=One on One with Mario Lemieux |publisher=Legends of Hockey |date=February 4, 2002 |access-date=September 21, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071107112805/http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/spot_oneononep199701.htm |archive-date=November 7, 2007 }}</ref>

By the [[1987–88 NHL season|1987–88 season]], [[Wayne Gretzky]] already won seven consecutive [[Art Ross Trophy|Art Ross Trophies]] for leading the league in points. That season, fuelled by his Canada Cup experience,<ref name="hhof interview"/> Lemieux scored 168 points and won his first NHL scoring title. He also won his first [[Hart Memorial Trophy]] as the league's Most Valuable Player to his team, and the All-Star Game MVP award after a record-setting six-point game. Despite Lemieux's success, the Penguins finished one point out of the playoffs. They did, however, have their first winning record in nine years.