Editing Mario Lemieux (section)

===1997–2000: Post-retirement===
The Penguins' free-spending ways of the early 1990s came at a high price. Through most of the 1990s, Penguins owners [[Howard Baldwin]] and [[Morris Belzberg]] mismanaged the team, owing over $90 million to various creditors. As a consequence, the Penguins asked Lemieux and other prominent players to defer their salaries. The team was also forced to make several trades to stop the bleeding, most of which backfired.

The situation became so dire that the Penguins were forced to declare bankruptcy in November 1998. For most of the [[1998–99 NHL season]], it looked like the Penguins would either move out of town or fold altogether. At this point, Lemieux stepped in with an unusual proposal to buy the team. Years of deferred salaries, adding up to $32.5 million, had made him the Penguins' largest creditor. He proposed to convert $20 million of his deferred salary into [[Ownership equity|equity]], with another $5 million in cash, enough to give him controlling interest.<ref name="si2001"/> He also promised to keep the team in Pittsburgh. The [[United States bankruptcy court|U.S. bankruptcy court]] gave preliminary approval to Lemieux's bid on June 24.<ref name=debtpaid/> Lemieux later said that he would have put in a bid even if he had not been owed the deferred salary. The NHL's Board of Governors approved his application for ownership on September 1, 1999.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DEFD7173AF931A3575AC0A96F958260|title=HOCKEY; Lemieux Is Finally the Emperor of the Penguins|last=Sandomir|work=[[The New York Times]]|first=Rich|date=September 2, 1999|access-date=July 18, 2008}}</ref> Two days later, after Lemieux cut a deal with [[Root Sports Pittsburgh|Fox Sports Pittsburgh]] (the Penguins' TV broadcaster) and [[Spectacor Management Group]] (which operated the Civic Arena), the court gave final approval to Lemieux's reorganization plan, allowing him to formally assume control.<ref name=debtpaid/> This made the then-retired star the first former NHL player to become majority owner of his former team. Lemieux assumed the posts of president, chairman, and CEO of the Penguins.

Lemieux's plan was designed to pay everyone the organization owed. In fact, the bankruptcy court approved his bid in part because of the prospect that the debt would be fully retired—a rare feat, considering that unsecured creditors typically get only pennies on the dollar. In his first season as principal owner Pittsburgh went from a loss of $16 million from the previous season into a small profit of $47,000.<ref name="si2001"/> Ticket sales increased after Lemieux's takeover and even more after his comeback in 2000, also improving team finances.<ref name="si2001"/> In August 2005, the [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|''Post-Gazette'']] reported that the Penguins had indeed fully paid the principal it owed to each of its creditors, both secured and unsecured. Lemieux was given much of the credit, according to the article, for his insistence that everyone owed be paid.<ref name=debtpaid>{{cite news|url=https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/penguins/2005/08/20/Penguins-pay-off-nearly-all-creditors/stories/200508200105|title=Penguins pay off nearly all creditors 100% recovery of money owed considered rare in bankruptcies|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=August 20, 2005|author=Shelly Anderson|access-date=March 13, 2021|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111194615/https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/penguins/2005/08/20/Penguins-pay-off-nearly-all-creditors/stories/200508200105|url-status=live}}<!--(Archived by WebCite at https://www.webcitation.org/5qt90ouB4)--></ref> He later relinquished the president's and CEO's posts to Ken Sawyer, but remained chairman and principal owner. In January 2006, Lemieux confirmed the team was for sale, but would consider offers only from those who would keep the team in Pittsburgh.