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Mark Messier

Mark Messier is considered one of the most accomplished professional hockey players of all times. Unlike other “great” players who simply stood out from the beginning of their careers, Mark Messier had several shadows to climb out from underneath. His ability to do that made his legendary career even more unique amongst other hockey greats.

The first shadow Mark Messier had to overcome was his track record as a professional ice hockey player in 1978-79 as a winger that could not score. Between the tenure with both the Indianapolis Racers and the Cincinati Stingers, Mark Messier registered only one goal in 52 games. This was not a record that would setup any player for success in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Despite the poor numbers, Messier was drafted in the 3rd round to the Edmonton Oilers giving him a fresh slate to overcome the shadow hovering over a player that could not score.

Though becoming part of the Oilers franchise gave Mark Messier new life where he would quickly move from beneath the scoring shadow, it introduced him to a second shadow he would have to live under for the next nine years–being second to Wayne Gretzky. Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier played together in Edmonton for 9 years. During this time, Mark Messier’s play elevated to greatness; yet, it did so at a time his teammate’s greatness earned Wayne Gretsky eight Hart Trophy MVP awards in a row and a shattering of the 50 goals in 50 games record achieving the feat in 39 games. Despite Gretzky’s achievements, Mark Messier contributions earned him a Conn Smythe Trophy in the 84 finals as he inspired a comeback by the Oilers against the four time champion New York Islanders. Immediately after the 1988 Stanely Cup Finals, Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Oilers removing yet another shadow for Mark Messier and allowing him to prove himself as a leader.

Post the Wayne Gretzky era, Mark Messier, serving as team captain, guided the Oilers to a 1990 Stanely Cup and himself to a Hart Trophy (League MVP) proving that he had the type of greatness that it took to sustain the championship Oilers. One year later, in a cost cutting move by the Oilers, Mark Messier would encounter perhaps one of the biggest shadows of his career–the Big Apple.

Whether it be sports, business, arts, or culinary, New York City is a world powerhouse that demands excellence. In 1991, Mark Messier was dealt the task as a team captain of bringing the New York Rangers from a loosing team to a Stanley Cup victory that hadn’t been seen in 54 years. In doing so, he was given a sports leadership role under the shadows of sporting greats such as Joe Namath and Babe Ruth to name a few. In his first season, he delivered the team the best record in the NHL and himself another Hart Trophy. Though their playoff hopes didn’t come to fruition in 1991 and the fact that the 1992 season ended in disappointment, this didn’t stop Mark Messier from emerging to the status of “legend” from beneath the shadows of other New York sports legonds of the past. In the 1994 finals, Mark Messier publicly guaranteed a Game 6 victory after being down 3-2 in a series against rival New Jersey Devils. Not only did he deliver upon his guaruntee like other New York legends who had made them, he backed it by scoring a natural hat trick during the game.

After entering the NHL under the shadows of not being able to score in professional hockey and then playing on the same team with Wayne Gretsky, Mark Messier proved to the world that he could transcend from these shadows to become one of the most unique players in the game. Being the second on the all-time career season points scorer and having won six Stanley Cups with two different teams and being the only professional athlete to captain two different teams to championships, Mark Messier rose to the top of career despite the challenges he faced. In some respects, this should be considered a greater accomplishment than simply being great!