Mark Messier

• Born: January 18, 1961
• Place of Birth: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

SPORT: Ice hockey

Early Life

Mark John Douglas Messier came from a sports-related family. His father, Douglas, had a long career as a minor-league hockey player and often took Messier and his older brother Paul to practice with him. Messier's great-uncle Howard won three Stanley Cups, and his three sons all played hockey. Messier's brother became an NHL player in 1978. Three of his cousins also played professional hockey, as did another great-uncle, who starred for the New York Rangers during the 1920s and 1930s.

Messier was fifteen years old when he attended his first junior hockey training camp. His father was the coach, and Paul, two years older than Messier, was the team's star player. Because he had not physically matured yet, Messier was somewhat intimidated by his brother's superior play. Concerned that he might not make the team, he began to concentrate on his physical conditioning as well as his hockey skills.

The Road to Excellence

In 1978, after two seasons of junior hockey, Messier turned professional at the age of seventeen, signing a five-game tryout contract with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association. Ironically, he was signed to replace future teammate and hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky, who had been sold to the Edmonton Oilers. After five games with the Racers, he joined the Cincinnati Stingers, with whom he spent the rest of the 1978–9 season. He scored just 1 goal in forty-seven games with the Stingers. Nonetheless, his talents were evident, and he was Edmonton's second choice in the 1979 NHL draft.

Messier played his first National Hockey League (NHL) game on October 10, 1979, against the Chicago Blackhawks. He scored his first goal three days later in a game against the Detroit Red Wings. Even though he demonstrated tremendous potential, he was viewed as undisciplined. Therefore, he was returned to the minors. The demotion had a sobering effect on him, causing him to rededicate himself to the game he loved. He never played in the minors again.

The Emerging Champion

Traditionally, left-wingers are better known for their bone-rattling checks than for their shooting skills. As Oilers opponents quickly began to realize, Messier had the complete package. At 6 feet and 207 pounds, he was big and fast.

Messier, like the Oilers of the early 1980s, improved with each season. He scored 12 goals in his first season, 23 in the next, and 50 in 1981–1982, a feat that earned him an NHL All-Star selection. Despite his individual successes, however, he was ultimately disappointed, as Edmonton was swept out of the 1981–1982 playoffs by the Los Angeles Kings. This was a team many believed the Oilers should have beaten.

Messier and the Oilers came roaring back the following season. The team skated to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history. Despite a sore shoulder throughout the playoffs, Messier led the Oilers with 15 goals in fifteen games, including a 4-goal outing against Calgary. His season mark of 106 points, 48 goals, and 58 assists was second only to that of teammate Wayne Gretzky.

Messier had clearly emerged as one of the best left-wingers in the NHL. However, only a few outside Edmonton knew how dominating a player he had become. The reason was simple: Gretzky. Playing on the same team as number 99 assured a player's partial anonymity. However, Messier was never bothered by his lack of celebrity. He believed the game had enough pressure without worrying about who got the most attention—for him, having Gretzky as a teammate meant having a winner in his corner and a friend both on and off the ice.

During the 1983–1984 season, Messier again scored more than 100 points. Midway through the season, he was moved to center. Without skipping a beat, he continued his on-ice assault on NHL opponents, leading the Oilers to a 57–18–5 record and the team's first Stanley Cup championship. Messier, who tallied eight goals and 18 assists for 24 points in the playoffs, captured the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs. Edmonton, with Messier, Gretzky, and other all-star players, won four consecutive Stanley Cups. Many consider the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s to be the NHL's greatest dynasty, and Messier was a large part of that group.

Just before the start of the 1988–1989 season, the hockey world was shocked when the Oilers traded superstar and team captain Gretzky to the Kings. The trade left Edmonton in transition and struggling; Messier dropped below the 100-point mark for the first time in three years.

The 1989–1990 campaign, however, was different. Messier, who replaced Gretzky as team captain, knew that the Oilers needed a leader to step forward. With determination and contagious enthusiasm, he carried his leadership duties onto the ice, registering a career year in nearly every department and leading the Oilers to a fifth Stanley Cup championship in six years. Once again, he provided the leadership in the postseason, scoring nine goals and compiling a league-leading 22 assists. His numerous awards and all-star recognition did not equal the satisfaction he felt when, as the Oilers' leader and team captain, he accepted the Stanley Cup trophy from NHL president John A. Ziegler Jr.

Continuing the Story

Following an injury-plagued 1990–1991 season and stalemated contract negotiations with the Oilers' management, Messier surprised Oilers fans by asking to be traded. On October 4, 1991, the New York Rangers acquired him in one of the biggest trades in club history. The Rangers named him team captain only three days later because of his leadership and on-ice capabilities.

Messier wasted no time showing New York fans why he was considered one of the most dominant players in the game. In his first season with the Rangers, he led the team in scoring with 107 points; his 72 assists were the most ever by a Rangers center. His play earned him the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the top player selected by all NHL players. He also garnered his fourth NHL all-star first-team selection.

After a disappointing 1992–1993 season, Messier helped the Rangers earn the league's best record, finishing the season with 84 points. Facing elimination in the semifinals of the Stanley Cup championship, he scored a hat trick in game six against New Jersey, and the Rangers went on to defeat Vancouver in seven games to win the franchise's first Stanley Cup since 1953.

Messier recorded 47 goals and 52 assists for an outstanding 99 points during the 1995–6 season and passed hall-of-famer Stan Mikita to become the fifth leading scorer in NHL history.

In 1996, Messier was reunited with former teammate Gretzky, and New York was poised to make another run for the Stanley Cup. Messier had a solid season, scoring 36 goals and 48 assists, including his 1,500th career point. In the Eastern Conference Finals, however, the Rangers lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in five games.

In 1997, as a free agent, Messier left the Rangers and signed with the Vancouver Canucks. Hampered by elbow and wrist injuries, Messier averaged fewer than 18 goals per year in his three seasons with Vancouver. In July 2000, he returned to New York. At thirty-nine, the Rangers hoped that Messier could help his younger teammates with his considerable experience and leadership skills. He played with the Rangers until he retired on September 12, 2005, shortly before the 2005–2006 season began.

In 2006, the New York Rangers retired Messier's number 11. He had chosen the number because it was his father's number throughout his career. He completed his twenty-five-season NHL career, winning six Stanley Cups, two Hart Trophies, one Conn Smythe Trophy, and two Lester B. Pearson Awards. He played in fifteen all-star games and ended his career with 1,887 points, second only to Gretzky in all-time NHL scoring. He was the first professional athlete to captain two teams while winning the league championship.

After retiring from hockey, Messier purchased a hotel in the Bahamas. Also, he worked as a guest commentator and was featured on television advertisements. A hockey award was also named after him. This became the Mark Messier Leadership Award, which is given monthly to an NHL player for recognition of outstanding performance, leadership skills, and dedication to humanitarian efforts. In 2007, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, a fitting tribute to one of the greatest players in hockey history. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame two years later.

In August 2009, Messier returned to the Rangers organization to serve as the special assistant to the president, Glen Sather. Not long afterward, he was passed over for the opportunity to coach the team. He resigned and announced that he was leaving the organization. In a statement, he explained that his decision to leave was not based on not being hired as a coach but rather on his desire to focus on other pursuits. He began working with the Oilers as an advisor in 2014.

Messier remained active in his post-hockey career. He established the Mark Messier Foundation to create opportunities for children in sports and to promote healthier lifestyles. He also founded the Messier Project to design a safer hockey helmet to reduce concussions and head injuries.

Messier continued to garner accolades. In 2017, he was named an Officer of Canada, which signifies outstanding achievement and service to the government of Canada. In 2021, Messier joined the ESPN sports network as a studio analyst. In 2023, Messier announced his participation in a business venture that acquired the "Game 7 Lifestyle Platform." This platform created content to instruct users on how to harness lessons from sports into other life ventures.

Summary

With a blend of talent, leadership, and toughness, Mark Messier earned the respect and admiration of his teammates, opponents, fans, and critics. Although he played in Wayne Gretzky's shadow for much of his career, he proved to be among the best players of his era.

Bibliography

Carpiniello, Rick. Messier: Hockey’s Dragonslayer. McGregor, 1999.

Carpiniello, Rick. Messier: Steel on Ice. McGregor, 1999.

Duhatschek, Eric. “Medicine Man.” Sports Illustrated, vol. 93, no. 3, 2000, pp. 85–87.

Hornsby, Lance. Hockey’s Greatest Moments. Key Porter Books, 2004.

Klein, Jeff. Messier. Triumph Books, 2003.

"Mark Messier." ESPN Press Room, espnpressroom.com/us/bios/mark-messier/#:~. Accessed 23 June 2024.

Podnieks, Andrew. Messier: Dominance on Ice. Key Porter Books, 2005.

Schram, Carol. "NHL Legend Mark Messier and Partners to Launch New ‘Game 7’ Lifestyle Platform" Forbes, 12 Oct. 2023, www.forbes.com/sites/carolschram/2023/10/12/nhl-legend-mark-messier-and-partners-to-launch-new-game-7-lifestyle-platform. Accessed 23 June 2024.

Strang, Katie. "Mark Messier Leaving Rangers." ESPN, 27 June 2013, www.espn.com/new-york/nhl/story/‗/id/9430101/mark-messier-leaving-new-york-rangers-organization. Accessed 29 Mar. 2017.