Kammala jumla mai zuwa: Ko da yake ya taka leda a gasar zakarun duniya na 1983 Junior Hockey, Lemieux bai yi wasa ba don 'yan wasan Kanada a 1983
1984 saboda ba ya son yadda kocin Dave King ya bi da shi a gasar da ta gabata. Har ila yau, ba ya so ya karya lokacinsa na farko. Ya gama aikinsa na QMJHL tare da maki 562 (ƙwallaye 247, tallafi 315) a cikin yanayi uku. Kafin NHL Entry Draft na 1984, Lemieux ya ba da sanarwar cewa yana son yin wasa ga duk wanda ya zaɓe shi. Shi da wakilin sa sun makale tare da Pittsburgh Penguins kuma ba za su iya yin shawarwari game da kwangila ba. Saboda wannan, lokacin da Penguins suka kira sunansa a matsayin zaɓaɓɓen zaɓaɓɓu na farko, bai girgiza hannun manajan Eddie Johnston ba ko kuma sanya rigar Penguins, wanda shine al'adar NHL. Ya yi iƙirarin cewa ya damu game da tattaunawar kwangilar, kuma ya ce "Pittsburgh ba ta son [shi] da kyau". Kodayake an gudanar da daftarin ne a Montreal, sama da magoya baya 3,000 sun kalli watsa shirye-shirye a Civic Arena na Pittsburgh - wasan Penguins na yau da kullun ya jawo magoya baya kasa da 7,000 a lokacin. Bayan daftarin, Johnston ya sanya hannu kan Lemieux zuwa kwangilar shekaru biyu don $ 600,000, tare da $ 150,000 don sanya hannu.