PITTSBURGH – His driver was ready to head home but Marc Bergevin was nowhere to be found.

Mario the Slacker

When you're a lifelong friend of Mario Lemieux, you can get away with giving the Hall of Famer a hard time about his work ethic in the early stages of his comeback. When some observers noticed Jan Hrdina was doing most of the hard work on the first line, which also includes Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, Bergevin chimed in and let the Comeback King have it. "I've been getting (it) quite a bit in the dressing room, especially from Marc," Lemieux said. "Marc stayed at my house and that's what he said: 'You don't even work on the ice, you don't do anything.' " Guilty as charged. "I was teasing him," Bergevin said. "I said, 'my legs don't feel (100 percent) because I haven't played much,' and he said, 'Mine either.' "So I told him, 'you don't have to worry about it because you only skate 60 feet and you're done. You never use your legs.'" But Lemieux got the last laugh, just like he usually does on the ice. "I always end up with three or four points," he said with a smile.

Calls of "Berg" echoed through the Penguins dressing room Friday morning but there was no sign of Pittsburgh's newest defenseman. The gameday skate had ended nearly an hour earlier and the world's most famous chauffeur/owner/athlete clearly was growing impatient that he was still at Mellon Arena.

Most of the players were already on their way home to get some rest before facing the Montreal Canadiens eight hours later, and that's where Mario Lemieux wanted to be headed, too. Only he couldn't leave without Bergevin.

"Berg!" Lemieux said again, this time with his voice raised to show a hint of frustration.

Out of earshot, the Penguins newest defenseman was giving a last-minute interview to a French-speaking journalist in another room. Lemieux found Bergevin, stopped for a quick photo opportunity with the Montreal media and then, finally, the two childhood friends were on their way.

Ever since Bergevin arrived in Pittsburgh via a trade with St. Louis, he has been staying at Lemieux's house and letting the Hall of Famer drive him to and from practices and games – not to mention an initial ride from the airport on Dec. 28.

What the chauffeur and team management are looking for in return from Bergevin is some help in driving the Penguins deep into the playoffs this spring.

"We picked him up because he has grit and a lot of experience," general manager Craig Patrick said. "Throughout our lineup we need as much grit as we can get – and he also has a fair amount of skill.

"And from what we understand he's great in the locker room and a great team guy."

That's a nice way of saying the Penguins didn't acquire Bergevin because they think he's a missing offensive ingredient to further complement Lemieux's return.

Bergevin's best offensive season was a seven-goal, 24-point effort in 1991-92 with the then-Hartford Whalers. However, a statistic that does resonate is his plus-27 rating from last season, which was eighth best in the league.

A 17-year NHL veteran, Bergevin is a classic stay-at-home defenseman who has been in winning environments before, who won't back down from anyone but also won't have mental lapses (read: stupid penalty or bad giveaway) that will cost the Pens at a crucial moment.

"Everybody loves to win but not everybody hates to lose and I think Marc Bergevin is one of those guys that hates to lose," ESPN analyst Bill Clement said. "He's not going to lead this team to a Stanley Cup, but he could become a valuable player in the process of getting there.

	“	They've got enough players that can win the games, but they don't have enough players that can help to avoid losing the games. That's Marc Bergevin. ”
		— Bill Clement, ESPN analyst

"Somebody that's not going to win you many games but is going to keep you from losing games. That's what this team needed more than anything. They've got enough players that can win the games, but they don't have enough players that can help to avoid losing the games. That's Marc Bergevin."

For his part, Bergevin says he's just doing what he has always done.

"(We're) a wide-open team and the way I can help this team is defensively – being strong in my own end and moving the puck and cutting down the scoring chances against us," he said. "Pretty much the same role as I had in St. Louis."

Only Bergevin didn't have much of a role with the Blues this season. He broke his thumb in training camp and that put him on the shelf for about nine weeks. By the time he was ready to come back to the lineup, St. Louis was already flying and he became the odd man out on the defensive corps.

So Bergevin asked general manager Larry Pleau for a trade, and the Montreal native is very thankful that the deal put him on a contender and reunited him with his friend Lemieux, a former teammate in junior hockey.

Bergevin's other new teammates are happy to have him in the lineup and in the dressing room too.

"He's been in St. Louis the last few years and they've been a very successful team so he's going to bring an element of leadership that we need," defenseman Ian Moran said.

Bergevin, 35, is the oldest player on the Penguins roster (born 55 days before Lemieux in 1965). But at 6-foot-1 and a solid 210 pounds, he is still successful at his style of play.

"He'll go out and battle for you, he blocks shots, he's a heads-up player who is going to move the puck for us," assistant coach Joe Mullen said. "Mostly it's going to be that veteran leadership out there and a guy that we can depend on to be tough in front of the net and play the body and be a little more physical than some of the players that we have here right now."

Bergevin understands and buys into his physical role on the ice but he shakes off the "leadership" label whenever it's brought up.

"I'm just being myself – if that's called leadership, that's fine," he said. "I don't see myself changing from St. Louis. I'm just trying to be who I am.

"Players need to be accountable for their play and actions and with Mario coming back, there's not much that needs to be said. Guys just step up for themselves and they realize what's at stake."

Originally a third-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 1983, Bergevin also has logged time with the Islanders, Whalers, Lightning, Red Wings and Blues. The farthest he has advanced in the playoffs is the conference finals with Detroit in 1996.

A free agent at the end of this season, he realizes this might be his last chance to contribute on a Stanley Cup contender. And Bergevin, who hopes to play another two or three seasons, thinks he may have found a place to finish out his career.

"If things worked out I'd love to stay," he said. "It's a good place, but my play and time will tell."

For now, Bergevin is just happy to have Super Mario's car service to chauffeur him around Pittsburgh while he looks for a home off the ice, too.

David Albright is a senior editor for ESPN.com.