Mark Messier

In 1976 Messier tried out for the junior Spruce Grove Mets of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), where his father, Doug Messier, was coaching. As Messier was only 15 (the age limit for the league was 20), Doug did not expect him to make the team, though he surprised and was added to the roster.[13] Messier recorded 66 points in 57 games with the Mets in the 1976–77 season. The team, which relocated to St. Albert the following season and was renamed the St. Albert Saints, named Messier captain for 1977–78, and he scored 74 points in 54 games.[14] At the conclusion of the season he joined the Portland Winterhawks of the major junior Western Hockey League (WHL) (not the same league Doug played in) for the playoffs, appearing in 7 games and scoring 5 points.[15]

Prior to the start of the 1978–79 season Messier was looking for alternatives to another season with the Saints, as he felt he was too good for the AJHL.[16] He was not interested in playing in the WHL, so initially tried out for the Canadian Olympic team, which was preparing for the 1980 Winter Olympics.[17] At the same time Doug contacted his former junior teammate Pat Stapleton, who was then coaching of the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association (WHA), who needed someone to replace another young player they had just traded, Wayne Gretzky. Doug called him and got Messier a contract to play hockey in Indianapolis for $30,000.[18] However Messier only took a 5-game amateur tryout, as it would allow him to return to junior hockey if need be.[17]

Messier played 13 games with the Saints to start the season, then joined the Racers on November 5 for his professional debut against the Winnipeg Jets. He played four games with the Racers, followed by a further two more with the Saints, before his final game with Indianapolis on November 28.[19] Offered a longer contract, Messier held off on signing it, which proved fortuitous as the team folded on December 15; his only cheque from them bounced. Returning to the Saints, Messier played his final two games of junior hockey for them before he was signed by the Cincinnati Stingers, also of the WHA.[20] Messier signed a contract for $35,000 to play the rest of the season with the Stingers.[21] He scored only one goal with the team, on March 20 1979 against Pat Riggin of the Birmingham Bulls.[22] In total Messier played 47 games for the Stingers tallying one goal and ten assists.

The WHA folded after the conclusion of the 1978–79 season, and four of the six remaining teams were admitted into the NHL; both the Stingers and the Bulls were not included in the merger and instead joined the minor Central Hockey League. The players were dispersed to teams that had already owned their NHL rights, or allowed to enter the 1979 NHL Entry Draft; being under 20-years-old Messier was eligible for the draft, and was selected in the third round, 48th overall, by the Edmonton Oilers.[23] He refused the Oilers' initial contract offers, a four-year two-way contract or one-year at $20,000 plus an option for a second year, instead wanting four-years at $50,000 per year, but ultimately signed what the Oilers offered.[24]

During his first year in the NHL Messier had several discipline issues, and at the end of October he missed a team flight and was subsequently re-assigned to their CHL affiliate, the Houston Apollos, for four games.[25] On returning to Edmonton, Messier moved back in with his parents, living at their St. Albert home.[26]

Messier was a fierce, tough competitor whose intense leadership in the dressing room was as important as the goals he scored on the ice. He was not initially known as a scorer, but his offensive numbers increased steadily over his first few years with the Oilers. In 1981–82, he registered his only 50-goal season. For most of his tenure with the Oilers, he played on a line with Glenn Anderson.

Messier's name engraved on the Stanley Cup, as a part of the 1983–84 Edmonton Oilers

Initially a left winger (he was named to the NHL First All-Star Team in 1982–83 on left wing), Messier switched to centre in the 1984 playoffs, and the results were spectacular. 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 on a brilliant end-to-end rush that sparked a comeback by the Oilers. By the end of the series the Oilers had won their first Stanley Cup and Messier had earned the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player of the playoffs.

In 1984, Messier was suspended for ten games for cracking Jamie Macoun's cheekbone with a sucker punch from behind during a game against the Calgary Flames on December 26. Messier was retaliating for having been boarded by Macoun earlier in the game, but the NHL ruled that he had instigated the fight.[27]

On September 6, 1985, Mark Messier lost control of his Porsche and totaled it by hitting three parked cars. He was later charged with hit and run and careless driving, for which he paid a fine.[28]

He won four more Cups with the Oilers, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990, the last which he captained the Oilers to a five-game victory over the Boston Bruins. Though the Oilers had been a 1980s powerhouse, the 1990 victory, which came two years after Wayne Gretzky was traded away, surprised many. Messier also won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP that season, edging out the Bruins' Ray Bourque by just two votes, the narrowest margin in the award's history.[27]

Messier at an Oilers event in 2016. He was the Oilers captain from 1988 to 1991.

Though Messier was actually under contract to the Oilers until 1993, his agent and father Doug Messier unsuccessfully pressed Sather for a new deal in the summer of 1990.[28][29] After the 1990–91 season, Messier was upset that the Oilers were willing to let Adam Graves leave the team. Messier issued a public trade demand during the Canada Cup tournament saying that he wanted out if the Oilers were not willing to do what was necessary to keep important players.[30] On October 4, 1991, in one of many cost-cutting moves by Edmonton management, Messier was traded to the New York Rangers for Louie DeBrusk, Bernie Nicholls, and Steven Rice.

In his first season with the Rangers, Messier won his second Hart Trophy and guided the Rangers to the best record in the NHL. However, they were ousted in six games in the second round of the playoffs by the eventual champions Pittsburgh Penguins.

In 1992–93, the Rangers missed the playoffs and was the first time in Messier's career that he did not play in the post-season. After the season, Mike Keenan was hired as head coach.

In the 1993–94 NHL season, the Rangers rebounded to once again finish first overall, and this time were expected to win the Cup. After easily ousting the Islanders and Capitals in the first two rounds, the Rangers' road to the Cup would get a lot harder.

Down 3–2 in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals against the rival New Jersey Devils, Messier confronted the New York media and publicly guaranteed a Game 6 victory. With fans and players on both sides reading the news headline, it then became a feat comparable to Babe Ruth's called shot and Joe Namath's Super Bowl III guarantee, and he backed it up by scoring a natural hat trick in the third period on an empty net goal with ESPN commentator Gary Thorne boasting, "Do you believe it?! Do you believe it?! He said we will win game six and he has just picked up the hat trick!" It helped the Rangers erase a two-goal deficit. The Rangers went on to win the series in a thrilling seventh game double overtime nail biter.

Then, in the Stanley Cup Finals, Messier scored the Stanley Cup winning goal in Game 7 at Madison Square Garden, giving the Rangers their first Stanley Cup in 54 years. He became the first (and to this date, the only) player to captain two teams to the Stanley Cup, something his former teammate Wayne Gretzky could not do the year before, and provided two of the most memorable images of that Stanley Cup Finals. First, when the buzzer sounded he was jumping up and down with overwhelming emotion as ticker tape fell; fireworks burst and fans and teammates celebrated. The other, which would become an iconic image to the Rangers and their fans, taken by George Kalinsky, photographer at Madison Square Garden, showing incredible emotion as he accepted the Stanley Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.[31][32][33] Finally, during the ticker-tape parade celebrating the Rangers' win, Rudy Giuliani, witnessing his first New York sports team championship victory just five months after becoming mayor, dubbed Messier "Mr. June," conjuring Reggie Jackson's "Mr. October" nickname.[34]

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. In 1996–97, former Oilers teammate Wayne Gretzky joined the Rangers, while Messier retained the captaincy and had a respectable 84-point regular season. The two led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers in five games, as the Rangers could not match the size and strength of Eric Lindros and his "Legion of Doom" linemates. Messier left the club at the conclusion of the season (see below), ending the brief reunion of Messier and Gretzky being together again on the same team after just one season. It would also turn out to be both players' final playoff appearances.

Messier had wanted to finish his career with the Rangers but Dave Checketts, the president of Madison Square Garden, said the team did not think Messier was worth $20 million USD for the next three years, though Messier maintained that he would have signed a one-year contract extension for under $6 million per season. Although public sentiment sided with Messier, as he led the team to two first-place regular season finishes and the Stanley Cup, General Manager Neil Smith was content having Gretzky and Pat LaFontaine as top centremen, and he came close to landing Joe Sakic from the Colorado Avalanche[35] when he signed him to an offer sheet in the summer of 1997. At 36 years old, Messier signed with the Vancouver Canucks to a high-priced free agent contract.

Messier's return to Canada after six years with the Rangers was an emotional and high-profile event, but the bliss was brief. Before the season started, captain Trevor Linden relinquished the captaincy to Messier, a move that did not go over well with Canucks supporters. Amidst a turbulent season, in which president and general manager Pat Quinn and head coach Tom Renney were fired, Linden was eventually traded by new coach and acting general manager Mike Keenan to the New York Islanders, where he became their captain, replacing Bryan McCabe, for whom Linden was traded along with Todd Bertuzzi. Messier's demand to receive the number No. 11, which he had worn throughout his career with the Oilers and Rangers, but which the Canucks had unofficially retired after Wayne Maki's unexpected death in 1974, hurt his image as well.[36]

In Messier's first game back on Broadway, MSG provided a video for him which was displayed on the big screen at the Garden. It was very emotional as some fans as well as Messier himself shed tears. He went on to score a goal in that game against his former team where he received applause after doing so even though he wore a different uniform. One fan displayed a sign which read, "You will always be our captain Mess."

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 and finished with 158 points over three years, considered below expectations compared to other star centremen earning around $6 million US a season,[37] like Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic. Messier was still expected to be named to the Canadian men's hockey team for the 1998 Olympics, in which the NHL allowed its best players to participate for the first time; however, he was surprisingly omitted by General Manager Bobby Clarke.[38]

Keenan was fired from his post as Canucks' coach midway in the 1998–99 season, as the club missed the playoffs during Messier's three years. The team made no attempt to re-sign Messier and he became a free agent after the 1999–2000 season.

After his tenure with the Canucks, Messier returned to New York and joined the Rangers, who were now run by former Oilers President and GM Sather. The Rangers held a press conference where they symbolically buried a hatchet, and Messier made an ill-fated "guarantee" of a playoff berth.[39] Messier was also given back the team captaincy upon his return to the Rangers, handed over to him personally by Brian Leetch.

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 40-point season.

On June 30, 2003 Mark Messier's rights were traded to the San Jose Sharks for a fourth round draft pick. This draft pick ended up being used to select Rochester, NY native and future Rangers captain Ryan Callahan. The Sharks held his rights for just a few hours as he would eventually go on to re-sign with the Rangers as a free agent.

Messier (left foreground) during his number retirement ceremony with the New York Rangers. The ceremony was held in January 2006, several months after he retired.

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 with 1,851 points, second-most in League history trailing only Wayne Gretzky.[40] 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." During his last game at Madison Square Garden (A 4-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on March 31, 2004), 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.[41] 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.[42]

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.

Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
World Cup
	1996 Canada
Canada Cup
	1991 Canada
	1987 Canada
	1984 Canada
World Championships
	1989 Sweden

Messier only played with Canada once outside North America, winning the silver medal at the 1989 World Ice Hockey Championships in Sweden. He also won three-straight Canada Cups and won silver at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, four tournaments which he described as "my real opportunity to play international hockey."[43]