Goodbye Mario. For Good, Or Just For Now?

To the surprise of no one, the Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that Mario Lemieux will not play another game this season. Lemieux will undergo surgery next week to relieve chronic tendinitis of his left hip flexor.

What is more surprising is Lemieux's announcment that he intends to play next season.

"I was optimistic that the injury would heal, and I was hoping to get back in the lineup and play with some of our very promising young players," he said, in a statement released by the team. "It is disappointing that I won't have a chance to return to the ice this season, but I look forward to coming back next year."

The Penguins' owner and captain, who is 38 years old, left the lineup November 1 after recording nine points in 10 games.

Lemieux needed surgery on his right hip in October 2001, and came back to record 91 points in 67 games in the 2002-03 season.

"The encouraging thing for me is that the surgery in 2001 was successful, and I have had no problems since then with my right hip," he said in the statement.

Lemieux is a six-time NHL scoring champion and three-time Most Valuable Player. His previous health problems included a fight with cancer and two back operations. His has 683 goals and 1,018 assists for 1,701 points in 889 NHL games.

He retired in 1997 and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame later that year. He returned to the ice in 2000.