Mark Messier

Lore & Background

Messier is considered one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time. He is second on the all-time list for playoff points (295) and third for regular season games played (1756) and regular season points (1887). He is a six-time Stanley Cup champion—five with the Oilers and one with the Rangers—and is the only player to captain two teams to Stanley Cup championships. His playoff leadership during his first stint with the Rangers, which ended a 54-year Stanley Cup drought in 1994, earned him the nickname 'The Messiah', a play on his name.

He was also known, throughout his career, as 'The Moose' for his aggression and strength. He twice won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player, in 1990 and 1992 and in 1984 won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player during the playoffs. He was selected for the NHL All-Star Game sixteen times. In 2007, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, in his first year of eligibility.

In 2017, Messier was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. On June 30, 2017, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada by Governor General David Johnston for 'contributions to hockey as an outstanding player and captain and for his leadership in encouraging children to take up the sport.'

Reader's Guide

Messier was born in St. Albert, Alberta, the son of Mary-Jean (Dea) and Doug Messier. He was the second son and third child of four; his siblings are Paul, Mary-Kay and Jennifer. The Messier family moved to Portland, Oregon when Mark was young, where Doug played for the Portland Buckaroos of the minor pro Western Hockey League. The family returned to St. Albert in 1969 after Doug retired from hockey.

Messier attended St. Francis Xavier High School in Edmonton as he played junior hockey where Doug was his coach and mentor for his early years. Messier's brother Paul was drafted by the Colorado Rockies 41st overall in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft, but he only played nine games with the club in 1978–79 before embarking on a long career in the German Eishockey-Bundesliga. Paul helps manage a hotel that Messier owns in Harbour Island, Bahamas. Messier's cousins Mitch and Joby also skated for NHL clubs.

Joby was briefly Mark's teammate on the Rangers. 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 was 20), Doug did not expect him to make the team, though he was surprised and was added to the roster. 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. After the season he joined the Portland Winterhawks of the major junior Western Hockey League (WHL) for the playoffs, appearing in 7 games and scoring 5 points. Before 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.

He was not interested in playing in the WHL, so he initially tried out for the Canadian Olympic team, which was preparing for the 1980 Winter Olympics. At the same time, Doug contacted his former junior teammate Pat Stapleton, who was 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.

Did You Know?

• Messier's first professional goal was accidental; he flipped the puck from near center ice and it took a bad bounce into the net.
• He was suspended for ten games in 1984 for sucker-punching Jamie Macoun.