“He was really able to handle the personal, political aspects of being an owner or an executive better than you would think a former player would be able to. He had a natural ability to navigate in those circles.”

“What's happened the last few years, I think it's really bothered him. It would as a player, and I think it would as an owner, too.”

“He fought hard for what he believed was right, but I don't think he relished much of it, whereas I thought Ron Burkle relished the negotiations. (Burkle) loved being a hard (expletive) and taking tough stands. Mario knew what he believed the team needed and expressed it pretty clearly. But that was not a battle he took joy in.”

“Over time, you become wiser to situations. … At some point, anybody who owns something has to be in that position to take money off the table if the timing's right. That's something that has to be learned. Obviously you can hold onto something too long, and all of a sudden what was there once isn't there anymore.”

“I would look at where the franchise was when he became involved, then look at it today. He and the current ownership group have done a really good job. Whether you believe the bluff or not about moving to Kansas City, he got them a new arena. He got a good deal. From where the franchise was playing, the fan base, the media following, to where it is now, all that stuff is way better. So much better than when he took over. In all aspects of stewardship for a franchise, he's done a really good job.”

“I would absolutely view him as a successful owner. He got a new arena done, which is a big deal. It's a successful local TV situation. His team has performed well, and players want to play there.”

“He has a presence, and he's confident. Those translate into leadership on the ice and at the helm. I think people respond well to that.”

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Hundreds of men have called Mario Lemieux a teammate or coworker.

Few, however, can say they predicted Le Magnifique would become the longest-tenured and most successful owner in Penguins history.

“If you would have asked Mario when he first came in whether ownership is something he would one day become interested in,” Troy Loney said, “I think he would have looked at you very oddly, to say the least.”

Yet it happened. Lemieux became an owner in 1999 and has helped take the franchise from bankruptcy to something worth more than five times what he and his ownership group paid for it.

Another former teammate, Bryan Trottier, said Lemieux “has a little bit of a Midas touch to him.”

Who knows? Maybe, if Lemieux and co-majority owner Ron Burkle receive an offer for the Penguins they can’t refuse, Lemieux will transition into car maintenance.

“He’s not a guy who necessarily loves the public eye or seeks out attention,” former linemate Rob Brown said. “But I do believe that whenever he puts his mind to something or puts his name on something, he wants to make sure it’s successful.”

Exerting control

When Lemieux and Burkle bought the team, the Penguins were a financial nightmare. Years of reckless spending resulted in more than $90 million owed to various creditors, a group that included Lemieux.

By converting into equity more than 60 percent of $32.5 million in deferred salary and joining forces with Burkle, Lemieux no longer had to worry about the direction of the franchise. If it sank, it would be because of something he, and no one else, did.

“It was a way for him to help keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh, but it was a way for him to control what was going on with the (Howard) Baldwin Era until now,” Jay Caufield said.

Now selling could be a way for Lemieux, 49, to exert more control over his personal life. Forbes estimated the franchise is worth $565 million. Lemieux and Burkle have said they will not comment until investment firm Morgan Stanley completes “a review of their strategic options.”

“He’s always been a family guy, but I’ve seen him go to different levels as far as the time he spends with his family, how much family he brings on the road, especially during the playoffs, how close they are,” said former teammate and Penguins radio analyst Phil Bourque. “It seems like year after year my eyes get opened even wider on how important his family is to him.

“I don’t know if this factored in to approaching the age of 50, where his family’s at, where he’s at. … For a lot of men, 50’s a big number. You kind of evaluate where you are in life.”

Second stage

Owning the Penguins gave Lemieux something to do after his playing career ended. That’s important for any former player, Loney insisted.

“People say you retire and go to the golf course,” Loney said. “Well, that’s good for a week. Then what? Your brain is still there. You want that challenge. You miss the competitive challenge of things. I think the guys that are lucky in their transitions find a business, a cause, something. This probably was a healthy thing for Mario to do post-hockey.

“I’m sure he wasn’t thinking about that when he went through it. He might look back and wish he didn’t have to do it. But you embrace something that puts you into the next phase.”

Root Sports play-by-play man and longtime Lemieux confidant Paul Steigerwald claimed he predicted a Lemieux ownership in a column for Trib Total Media that was written like “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

“The end of the column read, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, new Penguins owner, Mario Lemieux!’ ” Steigerwald boomed. “It was wishful thinking, but it was also something that I saw as a possibility. With all the money he was owed and the team in bankruptcy, I thought maybe there was some way that he could become owner of the team.”

Challenge embraced

Lemieux and Burkle purchased the Penguins for $107 million in 1999, when they played at Mellon Arena.

If they sell, the new owner(s) would inherit Consol Energy Center, a 377-game sellout streak, a waiting list for season tickets and a local TV deal that’s among the NHL’s 10 best.

They’re numbers few thought plausible when Lemieux and Burkle assumed control.

“As an owner, if the team won or lost, a lot of it went on Mario,” Brown said. “If the team didn’t succeed, people would ask, ‘Is Mario going to be able to carry this team? Is he going to make it successful again?’ I think he took pride in that, and he wanted to make sure that it was run to the best of his abilities.”

Brown said he believes Lemieux became more comfortable in the role of owner “but never to the point of a Mark Cuban.” Loney was surprised “how he took to it, aggressively and outwardly.”

“He was always a pretty quiet and reserved player and person,” Loney said. “I think being part of ownership made him be more active in a bunch of situations that he probably had not anticipated finding himself in.

“He embraced the challenge, and it helped him become the person that he is today … which is more outward, more willing to put himself in those situations.”

Under control

Conquering the new challenge, which is a theme of Lemieux’s life, whether it is hockey, golf, housing design, charity or wine, did not change Lemieux’s demeanor, Caufield said.

That stoicism — think about the countless pictures of Lemieux in the owner’s suite at Consol Energy Center — could shape his legacy should he and Burkle decide to sell.

“I’m there with him at all the home games, and he’s always composed, always under control, even when things aren’t going the way you want them to,” Caufield said. “When they’re underachieving or they don’t win in the playoffs, he keeps it very professional, the way the Rooney family seems to do.”

Bourque provided a similar assessment: that Lemieux wasn’t a reactionary or hothead.

“One thing Mario had as a player was incredible control of his emotions,” Bourque said. “I think as an owner he has that same philosophy. He didn’t get very high when things were going great. I don’t think he got real low when things were lousy.

“That being said, he’s an incredibly proud person both as a person and an owner. He has a certain idea of what’s expected when it comes to the Pittsburgh Penguins.”

Jason Mackey is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jmackey@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mackey_Trib.