Mario Lemieux to oversee hockey operations as Fenway Sports Group deal with Penguins almost done

For Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle are much more than the people who have owned his employer.

They’re “Mario and Ron.”

He has a personal relationship with each of them.

And he’s happy for them.

That’s because they’re still going to be involved with the Penguins once Fenway Sports Group formally takes a controlling interest in the franchise.

On Monday, it was announced Fenway had entered a purchase agreement for the Penguins. The sale, which has been in the works for months, must be approved formally by the NHL’s board of governors. That step, a mere formality, is expected to be completed by the end of the calendar year.

Per releases from Fenway and the Penguins, Lemieux and Burkle will remain on as minority owners — Burkle is currently the majority owner — with Lemieux continuing to oversee hockey operations.

“It’s the business side of the game,” Letang said to media in Calgary on Monday. “We’re kind of a little bit on the outside about that. But when you hear that Mario and Ron will stay with us and still be part of ownership, it’s a relief. Because I had a chance to spend a lot of time with them, kind of grew a relationship with both of them. To have them still with us, it’s a big relief.

“Obviously, it was a big opportunity. They probably hand-picked the buyers to make sure that the same mentality was going to be in place, a winning culture. I’m pretty sure it’s a good business move, too. Happy for them. It’s great.”

Lemieux and Burkle purchased the team out of bankruptcy in 1999 for a reported $107 million.

Their deal with Fenway Sports Group is said to be in the range of $900 million.

“The team, where it used to be (in the late 1990s and early 2000s), they made a great investment,” Letang said. “It was a risky one, I guess, but it paid off.”

Lemieux said in a statement: “As the Penguins enter a new chapter, I will continue to be as active and engaged with the team as I always have been and look forward to continuing to build on our success with our incoming partners at FSG. They have an organizational philosophy that mirrors the approach that worked so well for Ron and me over the past 22 years.”

That approach will include current CEO president David Morehouse, COO Kevin Acklin, president of hockey operations Brian Burke, general manager Ron Hextall and coach Mike Sullivan, all of whom will remain in place.

“(Hextall and Burke) addressed our players and our team this morning with respect to it. I had a short conversation with the owners before I went on the ice for (the morning skate),” Sullivan said. “These guys have a proven track record. They’re fans, first and foremost. They love sports, and I think they’re in it for the long haul. They understand it. … I’m looking forward to the opportunity to learn from those guys with the experience they can bring from some of their other sports. Having said that, I think they’re joining an ownership group in Ron and Mario that has provided such great leadership for our team in all the years that they’ve owned it. Their success, I think, speaks for itself with the amount of (Stanley Cup titles) they’ve won as owners.

“It’s a win-win for everybody involved. Ron and Mario are still involved in some capacity. That’s a good thing from our standpoint because they have provided such great leadership for us up to this point. The Fenway Sports Group is just going to add another level of leadership and resources to help this team continue to have success.”