Mark Messier

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Position Center
Shot Left
Nickname Moose, The Captain
Mess, The Messiah
Height
Weight		 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Pro Clubs WHA
 Indianapolis Racers
 Cincinnati Stingers
NHL
 Edmonton Oilers
 New York Rangers
 Vancouver Canucks
Nationality Flag of Canada Canada
Born January 18, 1961,
St. Albert, AB, CAN
NHL Draft 48th overall, 1979
Edmonton Oilers
Pro Career 1979 – 2004

Mark John Douglas "Moose" Messier (born January 18, 1961, in St. Albert, Alberta) is a retired ice hockey centreman in the National Hockey League, who spent a quarter of a century in the NHL (1979-2004) with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks. Messier also played professionally with the World Hockey Association's Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers. He had been the last former WHA player still active in professional hockey.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Edmonton Oilers

Messier was drafted in the 2nd round, 48th overall, by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Nicknamed "Moose," "The Captain," "Mess," and "The Messiah," Messier was renowned as a fierce, tough competitor whose intense leadership in the locker room was as important as the goals he scored on the ice. He holds the distinction of being the only player ever to captain two different franchises to Stanley Cup championships, winning six championships in total.

Though Messier ranks second in all-time scoring with 1,887 points (694 goals and 1,193 assists) in the regular season, his greatness will always be measured in terms of playoff achievements. In Game 3 of the 1984 Finals, for example, with his Oilers trailing the four-time defending champion New York Islanders by a goal, it was Messier's goal that sparked a comeback by Oilers. By the end of the series, Messier had earned his first and only Conn Smythe Trophy.

[edit] New York Rangers

Messier was already known as a hockey superstar, but the birth of the Messier legend came while a New York Ranger in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals against the rival New Jersey Devils. A game away from elimination, Messier confronted the NYC media and publicly guaranteed a Game 6 victory. Knowing full well the implications of his remarks, he backed up his promise by scoring a natural hat trick in the third period which helped the Rangers erase a two-goal deficit. The Rangers went on to win the series and the Stanley Cup (with Messier scoring the Cup winning goal in game 7) — their first in 54 years — and effectively put New Yorkers in a frenzy in the process. From that moment on, Messier was indelibly etched in sports history.

The 1994 Stanley Cup would be the high watermark of the second half of Messier's career. In 1995-96, Messier came as close as he had since 1991-92 to breaking the 100-point plateau when, at the age of 35, he recorded a 99-point season. An 84-point year the next season encouraged the Vancouver Canucks to sign the 36-year old to a high-priced free agent contract.

[edit] Vancouver Canucks

It was a high-profile move, with Messier returning to Canada after six years with the Rangers, but the honeymoon did not last. Sixty points in 1997-98 was his worst mark in a full year since his first NHL season; his next two seasons were shortened by injury. His demand that the #11 the team unofficially retired in honour of Wayne Maki be given to him hurt his image as well.[1] He finished with 162 points over three years, and, having become unpopular with Canucks fans, left at the end of the 1999-2000 season.

[edit] Return to New York

In 1996-97, Messier (right) would reunite with Wayne Gretzky (left) for one final unsuccessful run for the Cup.
Enlarge
In 1996-97, Messier (right) would reunite with Wayne Gretzky (left) for one final unsuccessful run for the Cup.

After his tenure with the Canucks, he returned to New York to try to lead the under-achieving Rangers back to glory. The Rangers held a press conference where they symbolically buried a hatchet, and Messier made an ill-fated "guarantee" of a playoff berth.[citation needed]

Messier's 67-point season as a 40-year old in 2000-01 was a mark better than any he established in his Vancouver years, showing that he could still be a valuable presence, but the Rangers missed the playoffs for the fourth year running. After missing half of 2001-02 due to an arm injury, Messier recorded only 23 points, and finished up next year with a mediocre 40-point campaign.

The 2003-04 season had been widely expected to be Messier's last. On November 4, 2003 against the Dallas Stars, Messier scored a pair of goals to vault past Gordie Howe into second on the all-time point scoring list. Eleven days later, Messier was the only active player to play in the legends game at Edmonton's Heritage Classic, suiting up with the Oiler alumni and making many light-hearted comments about being Edmonton's "ringer."[citation needed] During his last game at Madison Square Garden, Messier received applause every time he touched the puck and, after the game, received a standing ovation while he skated around the Garden and bowed to every section of the stands.[citation needed] At the age of 43, most media outlets believed Messier had decided to quit. The NHL lockout eliminated the next season. All speculation ended on September 12, 2005, when he announced his retirement on ESPN radio.[2]

Messier retired eleven games behind Howe's NHL record 1,767 regular season games played. Messier holds the record for most NHL regular season and playoff season games played at 1,992. Messier is one of a handful of players to have played 25 NHL seasons, doing so over four decades.

On January 12, 2006 during a very emotional ceremony that featured most of the 1994 Stanley Cup team, the New York Rangers retired his number 11 in a game against the Edmonton Oilers. Fans unable to attend the game put their tickets back on the market, with front row seats being resold up to the price of $30,000. The ceremony lasted 75 minutes, making it the longest of its kind in the history of professional sports.[citation needed] His is the 4th number retired by the Rangers. His number will also be retired by the Edmonton Oilers on February 27, 2007 against the Phoenix Coyotes, coached by old friend and teammate Wayne Gretzky.[3]

[edit] Off the ice

His father Doug was his coach and mentor in his early years, including his years in junior hockey with the Spruce Grove Mets. Mark's brother Paul was a centre for the Colorado Rockies as well as many years. His cousins Mitch and Joby also skated for NHL clubs.

Messier's son Lyon, who was born on August 16, 1987 is developing into a solid young hockey player and is currently a defenceman for the Texas Tornado of the North American Hockey League. Lyon's mother is former model Leslie Young. His current girlfriend and soon to-be wife, Kim Clark, gave birth to Mark's second son, Douglas Paul, on July 15, 2003, and daughter Jacqueline Jean in August, 2005.

Almost thirty years after having played with the Saints, Messier remains a minor legend in the city of St. Albert, Alberta. One of the rinks in the local Campbell Arena bears Messier's name.

[edit] Awards & achievements

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1976-77 Spruce Grove Mets AJHL 57 27 39 66 91 -- -- -- -- --
1977-78 St. Albert Saints AJHL 54 25 49 74 194 -- -- -- -- --
1977-78 Portland Winter Hawks WHL -- -- -- -- -- 7 4 1 5 2
1978-79 St. Albert Saints AJHL 17 15 18 33 64 -- -- -- -- --
1978-79 Indianapolis Racers WHA 5 0 0 0 0 -- -- -- -- --
1978-79 Cincinnati Stingers WHA 47 1 10 11 58 -- -- -- -- --
1979-80 Houston Apollos CHL 4 0 3 3 4 -- -- -- -- --
1979-80 Edmonton Oilers NHL 75 12 21 33 120 3 1 2 3 2
1980-81 Edmonton Oilers NHL 72 23 40 63 102 9 2 5 7 13
1981-82 Edmonton Oilers NHL 78 50 38 88 119 5 1 2 3 8
1982-83 Edmonton Oilers NHL 77 48 58 106 72 15 15 6 21 14
1983-84 Edmonton Oilers NHL 73 37 64 101 165 19 8 18 26 19
1984-85 Edmonton Oilers NHL 55 23 31 54 57 18 12 13 25 12
1985-86 Edmonton Oilers NHL 63 35 49 84 68 10 4 6 10 18
1986-87 Edmonton Oilers NHL 77 37 70 107 73 21 12 16 28 16
1987-88 Edmonton Oilers NHL 77 37 74 111 103 19 11 23 34 29
1988-89 Edmonton Oilers NHL 72 33 61 94 130 7 1 11 12 8
1989-90 Edmonton Oilers NHL 79 45 84 129 79 22 9 22 31 20
1990-91 Edmonton Oilers NHL 53 12 52 64 34 18 4 11 15 16
1991-92 New York Rangers NHL 79 35 72 107 76 11 7 7 14 6
1992-93 New York Rangers NHL 75 25 66 91 72 -- -- -- -- --
1993-94 New York Rangers NHL 76 26 58 84 76 23 12 18 30 33
1994-95 New York Rangers NHL 46 14 39 53 40 10 3 10 13 8
1995-96 New York Rangers NHL 74 47 52 99 122 11 4 7 11 16
1996-97 New York Rangers NHL 71 36 48 84 88 15 3 9 12 6
1997-98 Vancouver Canucks NHL 82 22 38 60 58 -- -- -- -- --
1998-99 Vancouver Canucks NHL 59 13 35 48 33 -- -- -- -- --
1999-00 Vancouver Canucks NHL 66 17 37 54 30 -- -- -- -- --
2000-01 New York Rangers NHL 82 24 43 67 89 -- -- -- -- --
2001-02 New York Rangers NHL 41 7 16 23 32 -- -- -- -- --
2002-03 New York Rangers NHL 78 18 22 40 30 -- -- -- -- --
2003-04 New York Rangers NHL 76 18 25 43 42 -- -- -- -- --
NHL Totals 1756 694 1193 1887 1910 236 109 186 295 244

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Preceded by
Brian Leetch		 New York Rangers captains
2000-04 (second time)		 Succeeded by
Jaromir Jagr
Preceded by
Trevor Linden		 Vancouver Canucks captains
1997-2000		 Succeeded by
Markus Näslund
Preceded by
Kelly Kisio		 New York Rangers captains
1991-97 (first time)		 Succeeded by
Brian Leetch
Preceded by
Wayne Gretzky		 Edmonton Oilers captains
1988-91		 Succeeded by
Kevin Lowe
Preceded by
Brett Hull		 Winner of the Hart Trophy
1992		 Succeeded by
Mario Lemieux
Preceded by
Wayne Gretzky		 Winner of the Hart Trophy
1990		 Succeeded by
Brett Hull
Preceded by
Billy Smith		 Winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy
1984		 Succeeded by
Wayne Gretzky

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ The 12 sports books of Christmas. Vancouver Courier (2004). Retrieved on 2006-08-26.
  2. ^ Messier retires after 25 seasons. ESPN.com (2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-26.
  3. ^ Oilers to retire Mark Messier's No. 11 jersey. NHL.com (2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-26.
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