When one thinks of legends who have graced the ice throughout NHL History, the names that come to mind include Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux, Martin Brodeur, Sidney Crosby, Guy Lafleur, and many others. 

However, no list of all-time greats in NHL history can exist without Mark Messier. Mark Messier’s career spanned a quarter century. His NHL and international stage accolades are almost too long to list. In this piece, we will look at the long and storied history of Mark Messier. 

Mark Messier was born in 1961 in St Albert, Alberta, Canada, long before the days of casino slot sites. The family briefly moved to Oregon since Mark’s father, Doug Messier, played for a minor league hockey team in Oregon. The team moved back to St Albert after Doug's hockey career ended. Doug was Mark’s coach during Messier's junior hockey stint with the Spruce Grove Mets of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL)

Despite being the underage limit, Messier persevered and made the roster anyway. He scored 66 points in 57 games played during the 1976-1977 season. 

The following year, his junior hockey team relocated to his hometown of St Albert. Messier was named team captain and lived up to the title by scoring 74 points in 54 games. 

After that, Messier played for a few teams in the WHA and briefly in the CHL. He was allowed to enter the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. He was selected with the 48th pick in the third round. He would make his NHL debut during the 1979-1980 season; and do not forget about Responsible Gambling.

Messier would score 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists) in his 1st season, and Mark Messier would nearly double his point total in year #2 with 63 points (23 goals, 40 assists). 

In year #3, Messier would break through in the goal-scoring department. He had the only 50-goal scoring season of his entire career. He would make his first All-Star team in year #4 and achieve the ultimate prize in #4.  

Sparked by a strategy that had him switching from left winger to center, Messier scored eight goals and eighteen assists in the 1984 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This sparked the Edmonton Oilers to win the Stanley Cup Finals in 1984. Messier ended up winning the Conn Smythe Trophy that year.   

This would start a dominant period for the Oilers, sparked by the fantastic dynamic duo of Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky.    

Messier would win four more Stanley Cups (1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990). However, the 1990 Stanley Cup was won a couple of years after Wayne Gretzky was traded from the team in 1988. This helped to legitimize Mark Messier as an all-time great. Messier won his first of two Hart Trophies that year. 

Not too long after, Messier’s relationship with the Oilers worsened as he became frustrated with the Oilers’ lack of urgency in keeping important players on the team. Mark Messier was traded to the New York Rangers in October 1991. 

Messier’s 1st season with the New York Rangers would end with him winning his 2nd Hart Trophy as he would lead the Rangers to the best record in the league.   In Messier’s 2nd season with the Rangers, he failed to make the postseason for the 1st time in his NHL career. Messier and the Rangers would make up for that in many ways in 1993-1994. 

Sparked by the hire of coach Mike Keenan, the Rangers would be the top seed in the Eastern Conference. During their playoff run, the Rangers would run into trouble against the New Jersey Devils and find themselves down 3-2 in the series. Mark Messier faced the New York media and guaranteed that the Rangers would win Game 6. He would deliver on that promise by scoring a natural hat trick.   The Rangers would go on to win that series. 

Ultimately, the Rangers would win the Stanley Cup against the Vancouver Canucks in 7 games. Mark Messier would score the game-winning goal in Game 7. This was Messier’s sixth and final Stanley Cup victory. Messier remains the only player to lead two different franchises to Stanley Cups as the captain. Messier would play three more seasons for the Rangers before being traded to the Vancouver Canucks. After playing three seasons for the Canucks, he would return to the New York Rangers to finish the final four seasons of his career. 

Messier was a 16-time All-Star and third all-time in games played, scoring regular-season points. He also had success during his international career. He was a three-time Canada Cup winner and won silver medals in the 1989 World Ice Hockey Championships and the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.  

In 2006, the NHL created the Mark Messier Leadership Award. The award aimed to award individuals who motivate their teammates and exemplify leadership on the ice. It also considers charitable activities and community causes in which the individual participates. 

Mark Messier was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in his initial year of eligibility, June 2007. He was also an inaugural inductee into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players during the NHL’s 100th anniversary gala in Los Angeles. 

There is no question that Messier is a true legend of the game.

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