Takin' a T/O With BT: Is Claude Lemieux the New Captain Comeback?

And you thought that the Lee Stempniak trade was going to be the biggest piece of news coming out of the NHL yesterday.

Alright, well maybe a 43-year old attempting to come out of a five-year retirement may not qualify as "big news", it does at least lend itself to an enjoyable capper to your favorite evening sports segment.

Lemieux is back believe it or not.

Not to be misleading, but we aren't talking about Mario's third comeback to the NHL. Even if the "Magnificent Sixty-Six" were to come back, I don't think it would generate as many head-scratches as Claude Lemieux signing a minor-league contract with the San Jose Sharks yesterday.

Yeah...Claude Lemieux. And you thought the Mats Sundin saga was strange—at least Sundin never officially retired for half a decade.

Lemieux, fresh off a two-game stint with the China Sharks, has signed on with the Worcester Sharks in hopes of moving his way up the AHL ranks and back on to an NHL roster that features grey-beards Jeremy Roenick and Rob Blake—two players who are three a full five years younger than Lemieux.

Sidenote: For those of you that don't know, the China Sharks are the Asian affiliate of the San Jose Sharks—probably my most favorite piece of info to come from this whole ordeal. I'm still waiting on my contract offer to become GM of their Angola affiliate.

Following this signing, there are a few thoughts on everyone's mind:

1) Lemieux's tryout with the China Sharks was used as a gauge for his potential comeback. Has anyone other than Claude Lemieux ever heard of this team or league before?

And how, exactly, is playing for the China Sharks a proper gauge of how his body is going to handle the AHL game, let alone the NHL game.

2) What was Doug Wilson's thought process behind this move?

3) How effective is a 43-year old Lemiuex going to be for the Sharks if he can make it that high up the organizational ladder?

4) Did anyone else know his middle name was Percy?

Middle monikers aside, Lemieux's comeback is raising more than a few eyebrows around the league, not just because of the obscure China Sharks reference.

But while many of us are discrediting the team (I'll admit, the novelty still hasn't worn off for me), Lemieux didn't do terribly in his two game tryout, registering an assist and four penalty minutes (although it may be worth noting that this is a last-place team in the Asian Ice Hockey League).

Then again, his team also has one of the higher counts of legitimate former North American Hockey players with Wade Flaherty, Steve McKenna, Kevin Du, and Kelly Guard, so it's possible that the added "experience" could have helped Lemieux.

As Lemieux began to shop himself around the NHL, Doug Wilson started considering the prospects of what Lemieux—if he could return to form—could do for his club.

While the grit and dirty play are probably still swimming in the blood of Lemieux, he also has a wealth of experience on his shoulders as well—four cup rings with three different teams.

That's the same amount of cup rings as the rest of the Sharks' roster—thanks in large part to Brad Lukowich.

One has to wonder however, if Wilson actually saw something in Lemieux's body of work with the China Sharks, or if he's just doing his friend a favor in helping to feed his fire.

Either way however, Lemieux is going to have to prove he's got more in the tank than just the peskiness that made him famous, especially as the Sharks have their agitator already in Jody Shelley.

As we keep tabs on Lemieux's progression (or possible regression), it'll be interesting to see what he's got left; after all, his last NHL stint saw him net 20 points in 66 games for the Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes, and that was still pre-lockout.

There's no telling how the new game is going to affect Lemieux, for better or for worse.

Unfortunately, with players trying (and mostly failing) to hold on that extra year, and if others follow in Lemieux's footsteps, then the NHL will become the new old folks home of professional sports.

Sooner or later Vinny Testaverde will come calling.

So here's to instituting an age ban: Anyone over forty isn't welcome on the ice anymore, unless they're driving a Zamboni.

Of course that'd never work (and I'm kidding), but Lemieux isn't doing his geriatric brethren any favors either, as he's coming off more as a ridiculous sideshow than a true-blue comeback kid.

Then again, if this works, all of us who thought it wouldn't work will probably be watching him lead the Sharks to a Stanley Cup and Lemieux winning a record fourth cup with a fourth different team.

Claude Lemieux—hoping to prove that forty-three is the new thirty-five.

Bryan Thiel is a Senior Writer and an NHL Community Leader for Bleacher Report. If you want to get in contact with Bryan, you can do so through his profile. You can also read all of his previous works in his archives.