Lemieux takes part in Penguins 60th anniversary ceremony

Mario Lemieux walked out on the ice in Pittsburgh on Saturday to an enormous cheer that sounded like it was 60 years in the making.

Lemieux took part in a special pregame ceremony at PPG Paints Arena before the Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Montreal Canadiens in the team’s home opener, to celebrate the franchise’s 60th anniversary season.

With the introduction of the Hockey Hall of Famer, fans rose to their feet to show respect to a franchise icon. Lemieux made his way to center ice for a ceremonial puck drop, giving fist bumps to Penguins players on the bench along the way.

Joining Lemieux for the ceremony were Doug McGregor – son of Jack McGregor, the Penguins’ original owner in 1967 – and Penguins chairman and governor Jeff Hoffman.

Sidney Crosby and Nick Suzuki met at center ice for the ceremony.

Saturday’s matchup was a rematch of the Penguins’ initial home game 60 years ago, as the team hosted the Canadiens back in 1967 to officially drop the puck on the franchise.

The original puck that was used in that game was brought back out for Saturday’s ceremony.

Since that first game, the Penguins have hoisted the Stanley Cup five times, including winning back-to-back championships twice (1991, 1992, 2009, 2016, 2017).