Wednesday, October 31, 2001
Mario's back at work in pursuit of Olympics
By BRUCE GARRIOCH -- Ottawa Sun
ATLANTA -- Super Mario Lemieux isn't going to miss his chance to go to the Winter Olympics.
Twenty-four hours after having surgery on his injured hip, the Pittsburgh Penguins captain was back in the gym yesterday doing re-hab in a bid to return to the lineup as quickly as possible.
Lemieux is scheduled to be the captain of Team Canada at the Winter Games in Salt Lake City in February, and there was speculation his injured hip could sideline him longer than expected.
OUT 3-4 WEEKS
But Penguins spokesman Tom McMillan said yesterday the surgery went well and Lemieux will return to action in 3-4 weeks.
"He's doing well and as far as I know he was back getting started on his rehab today," said McMillan, the Penguins vice-president of communications.
"I know that Mario was quite relieved when he found out that he could have surgery to repair this problem. It's been bothering him for a while and he's tried to play through it."
Rumblings in NHL circles suggested Lemieux might have considered retirement if it hadn't been for the Olympics because he didn't want to put himself through another surgery and re-hab.
Lemieux is also motivated to return because the Penguins are hoping to build a new arena in downtown Pittsburgh.
"I've talked to some of his friends and I don't think he's given any thought to retirement," said McMillan. "I know he's determined to play and help this team win."
That's also great news for Wayne Gretzky, executive director of Team Canada.
"Of course Mario will be our captain and he'll be a great leader," Gretzky said yesterday in Montreal. "I think the three or four weeks off will be good for him."
Lemieux was one of eight players selected to Team Canada in March. The team's final 15 roster additions must be filled by Dec. 22.
RHODES ON MOVE?:
Talk in Atlanta is former Senators G Damian Rhodes could be traded. Rhodes is ranked behind Milan Hnilicka on the Thrashers' depth chart with two years left on his contract at $2.55 million and $2.75 million US. "There's so many options you could drive yourself crazy trying to think about them," said Rhodes. He would have liked to start against Ottawa last night, but Hnilicka got the call. "It would've been nice, especially since I'm feeling good now ... but there'll be other times," he said.
-- with files from CP
2002 Games Men's Hockey Coverage
