Mark Messier

Born

1961-01-18

Birthplace

Edmonton, AB, Canada

Biography

Mark Messier is a Canadian former professional ice hockey center of the National Hockey League and former special assistant to the president and general manager of the New York Rangers Hockey Team. He played a quarter of a century in the NHL (1979-2004) with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers Hockey Team, and Vancouver Canucks. He played professionally with the World Hockey Association (WHA)'s Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers. He was the last former WHA player to be active in professional hockey, and the last active player who had played in the NHL in the 1970s. Messier is considered one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time. He is second on the all-time career lists for playoff points (295) and regular season games played (1756), and is third for 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 professional teams to championships. His playoff leadership while in New York, which ended a 54-year Stanley Cup drought in 1994, earned him the nickname "The Messiah", a play on his name. He twice won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player, in 1990 and 1992, and in 1984 he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player during the playoffs. He is a 15-time NHL All-Star. 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.