June 1984: Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft.

Oct. 11, 1984 - Made NHL debut at Boston. Scored a goal on his first shot on his first NHL shift, against Bruins goalie Pete Peeters.

1984-85 - Won Calder Trophy after becoming only the third rookie in NHL history to score 100 or more points (43 goals, 57 assists).

1985-86 - Awarded Lester B. Pearson Award by the NHL Players' Association to the league's best player. Finished second to Wayne Gretzky in scoring race with 141 points (48, 93) and Hart Trophy voting.

1986-87 - Led Penguins in goals (54) and assists (53) despite playing in only 63 games due to sprained right knee and bronchitis.

1987-88 - Won Hart Trophy as league MVP, Art Ross Trophy as scoring leader with 168 points (70, 98), and Pearson Award again.

1988-89 - Won second straight scoring title with 199 points (85, 114). Set single-season record with 13 short-handed goals. Became only second player (Wayne Gretzky) to score 70 goals in two seasons.

1989-90 - Finished fourth in league in scoring with 123 points (45, 78) despite missing 21 games due to herniated back.

July 11, 1990 - Had surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back.

1990-91 - Missed first 50 games recovering from a rare bone disease resulting from a surgery-related infection. Won Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, scoring 44 points (16, 28), leading Pittsburgh to first Stanley Cup championship.

1991-92 - Won third scoring title with 131 points (44, 87). Broke his left hand when slashed by the New York Rangers' Adam Graves in Game 2 of Patrick Division finals, but returned after missing only five games. Won Conn Smythe Trophy again, scoring 34 points (16, 18) as Pittsburgh won second straight Stanley Cup.

January 1993 - Diagnosed with a Nodular Lymphocytic form of Hodgkin's disease. Underwent treatment in form of radiation between Feb. 1 and March 2.

1992-93 - Played in only 60 games after recovering from Hodgkins' disease. Won fourth scoring title with 160 points (69, 91). Won Hart Trophy for second time. Awarded Pearson Award again. Awarded Masterton Trophy as player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

July 28, 1993 - Had second back surgery in three years to repair herniated muscle in back.

1993-94 - Missed first 10 games recovering from surgery and a total of 58 games with back problems.

Aug. 29, 1994 - Announced he was taking a medical leave of absence due to fatigue, an aftereffect of his 1993 radiation treatments, and would sit out 1994-95 season.

June 20, 1995 - Announced he would return for the 1995-96 season.

Oct. 26, 1995 - Scored 500th career goal at New York Islanders in his 605th game, becoming the second-fastest player (Gretzky - 575th) to attain the plateau.

1995-96 - Won third Hart Trophy as MVP, becoming only seventh player to achieve the feat at least three times. Became fourth player to win fifth scoring title with 161 points (69, 92). Led NHL in power-play goals (31), tied for third-highest single-season total in league history.

Feb. 4, 1997 - Scored 600th career goal vs. Vancouver in his 719th game, becoming the second-fastest player (Gretzky, 718th) to reach the milestone.

1996-97 - Won sixth scoring title with 122 points (50, 72). Recorded 10th career 100-point season, second only to Gretzky's record of 15.

April 6, 1997 - Announced he will retire following the playoffs.

April 26, 1997 - Had a goal and an assist in his final NHL game as Pittsburgh lost 6-3 to Philadelphia and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in five games.

Sept. 3, 1999 - Lemieux's ownership group officially takes over Penguins on eve of training camp opening. Lemieux rolled much of the $26 million-plus owed him in deferred payments into an equity stake and acquired nearly a dozen new investors to buy team that was more than $100 million in debt. Lemieux becomes first player in the modern era of sports to buy the team he once played for.

Dec. 8, 2000 - Penguins announce Lemieux will end his retirement and rejoin the lineup by the end of the month as the first modern owner-player in major U.S. pro sports.

Dec. 27, 2000 - Playing in his first game in 44 months, Lemieux has an assist just 33 seconds into his first shift and finishes with a goal and two assists against Toronto.

April 2001 - Ends comeback regular season with 76 points in only 43 games and is the runnerup to Joe Sakic for the NHL MVP award (Pearson Award). Goes on to lead Penguins to two playoff round victories and Eastern Conference final against New Jersey.

2001-02 season - Limited to 24 games by a hip injury, has 31 points and becomes the seventh player in NHL history with 1,600 points in his career. Just before the injury shuts him down for the rest of the NHL season, he captains Canada's gold medal-winning team in the Salt Lake City Olympics, his first Olympic medal.

2002-03 season - Leads Penguins with 91 points (28 goals, 63 assists) in 67 games, his most since playing in 76 games in 1996-97, and ranks eighth in the league in scoring. Named All-Star Game starter but misses game with an injury.

2003-04 season - Limited to career-low 10 games by a back injury that forces him to miss the final five months of the season. Without Lemieux, Penguins finish last in overall standings for the first time since 1984, the year Penguins drafted Lemieux.

June 10, 2004 - At his charity golf tournament, Lemieux says the "clock is ticking" on the Penguins' future in Pittsburgh without a new arena deal. Also says that while the franchise is not currently for sale, it could be someday soon.

Feb. 16, 2005 - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman cancels the NHL season, the first time a labor impasse has wiped out an entire season in a major American pro sports league. Because of it, Lemieux misses a full season for the fifth time since being drafted in 1984; the first four were due to health reasons (1994-95) or retirement (1997-2000).

June 10, 2005 - Lemieux's group nears an agreement to sell a majority stake in the team to a West Coast investors group headed by San Jose venture capitalist William Del Biaggio III, who also co-owns a minor league team with Lemieux. Lemieux would retain a share of the club. Penguins again emphasize that a new arena is mandatory for the franchise's survival in Pittsburgh.