GOAT Index

Two legends at a time. Thousands of votes. One ranking.

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Mario Lemieux: the case for the GOAT

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    Mario Lemieux: the case for the GOAT

    C · Penguins · Born 5 October 1965, Montreal, Quebec, Canada · Career 1984–1997, 2000–2006

    "Super Mario" was a towering, silky-handed centre who spent his whole career with Pittsburgh, rescuing the franchise as a player and later as its owner.

    Career highlights

    Why Mario Lemieux could be the GOAT

    Lemieux's 1.88 points per game ranks second only to Gretzky, and he did it despite back problems, cancer treatment and a three-year retirement. In 1992–93 he returned from radiation therapy to win the scoring title. Fans who saw him at full health argue no one combined size, reach and skill so devastatingly.

    What fans say

    Mario Lemieux is #2 of 25 in the fan ranking, with a 2–0 head-to-head record from 23 NHL votes. See the full NHL GOAT ranking

    Mario Lemieux head to head

    How the ranking works. Every head-to-head vote is a result, like a game. The standings use a Bradley–Terry model, the same idea behind chess ratings: beating a highly rated legend counts for more than beating a long shot. Ratings are shown on a chess-style scale centred on 1500.

    One vote per matchup per person. If you see a pairing again in another session your new answer replaces the old one, so nobody can stuff the ballot by repeating a matchup.

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      Photos come from Wikimedia Commons under the licenses listed. Each links to its source page.