Mario Lemieux is chill. So chill, that he's fine with New York Islanders rookie Josh Ho-Sang wearing No. 66 in the NHL.
You may recall the salt in the Pittsburgh area earlier this month as Pens fans did not like the fact that Ho-Sang wore the same number the Penguins great made famous when he brought two Stanley Cups to the Steel City.
The number, which is not retired league-wide, is just a number, according to Lemieux.
“I’m fine with it,” Mario Lemieux told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette through a Penguins spokesperson. “It’s just a number. Number 4 and number 9 were worn by great players (Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe, respectively), and they are not retired forever. Players can choose whatever number they want.”
And he's absolutely right. Until the number is retired league-wide, like Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 is, then it's fair game.
To his credit, Ho-Sang says he picked out the number six years ago to honor Lemieux and he would consider dropping it if Lemieux objected.
