Owner and player: Mario Lemieux decided when to stop training

There are always many stories and anecdotes in the hockey world, whether they’re recent or date back a few years.

We usually learn more about certain stories and situations when players involved at the time start talking in the media, whether on podcasts or simply on TV.

It’s always fun to learn more about certain players, given that we don’t know everything about them when they’re active in the best league in the world.

Well, here’s a funny story told by Maxime Talbot during his recent appearance on Kevin Raphaël’s podcast Sans Restriction.

Talbot, who was teammates with Mario Lemieux for one season in 2005-2006, recounted an anecdote involving number 66 of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

At the time, while Mario Lemieux was still a player for the Penguins, the star player had become one of the team’s owners in 1999.

Lemieux was both owner and player for the same team.

This led to some bizarre situations, as Talbot explained.

It was Mario Lemieux who decided when to end training.

If the trainer wanted to do one last exercise or another drill, and Mario Lemieux was fed up, Lemieux would nod no, and the trainer would end the practice, thus forgoing the exercise or drill.

@sansrestriction♬its original – sansrestriction

Talbot explains that the players really didn’t skate very often after practice, since Mario Lemieux decided quite a bit as owner and player.

Ed Olczyk was the Penguins’ coach at the time, and he accepted Mario Lemieux’s requests without contradicting him.

Talbot also adds that Lemieux practiced without wearing a helmet.

In short, the Penguins’ number 66, and the best player in the franchise’s history, had a lot of influence in the dressing room and on the ice.

He made a lot of decisions in his final NHL season.

That season, Lemieux played just 26 games, scoring seven goals and 22 points before retiring.

In short, it’s the kind of funny story we like to hear.

In a gust

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– Coming up.

– What a performance all the same.