The return of Mario Lemieux is the best thing to happen to the NHL in a long, long time.

Lemieux is the Pittsburgh Penguins' scoring machine, the man who over 12 seasons has averaged more points per game than even the "Great One," Wayne Gretzky.

Unfortunately, ice hockey fans were deprived of the joys of watching Lemieux for the previous three seasons, until he made his return to the rink on 28th December 2000.

As the Penguins prepare to face the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs, Lemieux's return is the reason Pittsburgh enter the postseason as the overwhelming fan favourite.

As easy as he has always made things look on the ice, Lemieux has had an incredibly difficult time off it.

In 1993, he was diagnosed with a form of Hodgkin's Disease and had to leave the game to undergo radiation treatment against the cancer.

Luckily, the disease was discovered in its early stages and Lemieux was eventually able to make a full recovery.

While he did return to the Penguins following his recovery, the residual effects of the treatments, coupled with back problems, led to his early retirement in 1997 at the age of 31.

It was a crushing blow for the NHL.

Gretzky was in the twilight of his career, playing with diminished skills for a poor New York Rangers team, and there were no new superstars on the horizon.

Besides Gretzky, Lemieux was the only other player of the era able to provide the plays that could draw gasps from home as well as away crowds.

Instead of carrying the torch Gretzky was soon to drop, Lemieux was forced to hang up his skates in the prime of his career.

Savvy

Without Lemieux, the Penguins had trouble luring fans to the arena and became a franchise in decline.

Displaying some of the savvy he had always shown on the ice, Lemieux put together an ownership group together and bought the Penguins lock, stock and barrel in 1999.

With Lemieux (and his money) in charge, Pittsburgh survived their financial crisis.

Then, just over three months ago, with his back pain eased by three years' rest and his cancer treatments in the distant past, came the news fans had been waiting for.

Instant sensation

Lemieux decided he could make a full return to ice hockey, becoming the first player-owner in American sports history.

No one was sure what to expect upon his return, but Lemieux was an instant sensation.

He showed virtually no rust from his long layoff, scoring 76 points in 43 games and showing off the kind of moves that made him one of the most exciting playmakers ever.

Always the consummate gentleman athlete, it is a safe bet that no individual NHL player has ever had more fan support than Mario Lemieux is enjoying right now.

And as the Stanley Cup playoffs approach, he feels he is peaking at just the right time.

"That's been my plan all along, to come up big in the playoffs," said Lemieux. "I feel better than I ever have."