Edmonton Oilers legend and longtime captain Mark Messier is one of the greatest
National Hockey League (NHL) players of all-time. He is a member of an elite group being inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame and named to the NHL's 100 greatest players of all-time list in 2017.
Messier is the only player to captain two teams to win the Stanley Cup
The 2025-2026 NHL season is underway with many pre-season games. Most teams enter into their training camp and pre-season with over 50 players, each player fighting for a spot on teams that can only carry 23 players into the regular season. The Oilers entered training camp this season with 57 players.
Each team, like the Oilers, are trying to explore the winning combination of lines to be competitive. Many will look at their seasoned leaders to shape the team for the season. Leaders arise in many ways demonstrating on ice excellence and passion, inspiration in the dressing room and passionate community service.
Mark Messier exemplified all these characteristic leadership qualities and more during his 25 seasons playing in the NHL. Only the legendary Gordie Howe played more years in the NHL in fact Howe played only one more season than Messier. During his 25 seasons, Messier played 1,756 games while Howe played 1,767 games and Messier had 1,193 assists to Howe’s 1,049 assists. Both were great in their own right.
Mark Messier early years
Messier was born in St. Albert, Alberta and he was the second son and third child of four. Messier’s father, Doug, played hockey and took the family to Portland, Oregon to play for the Portland Buckaroos of the WHL at the time. They moved back to Edmonton when Doug retired from hockey.
Doug eventually became Mark’s coach and mentor during his early years. Mark played for the Spruce Grove Mets in the 1976-77 season which later relocated to the St. Albert Saints in the 1977-78 season. Mark finished with 140 points in 111 games in those two seasons (according to eliteprospects.com).
His journey then became storied when he tried out for the 1980 Canadian Olympic team (for the Lake Placid Olympics) and Doug Messier, his dad, tried to convince him to play for a WHL team that year. Messier did not make the Olympic team but Randy Gregg and Glenn Anderson did.
Canada would win bronze and USA would beat the mighty Soviet Union to win their “Miracle on Ice” gold championship. Interestingly, Doug Messier did eventually convince his son to take a contract with the Indianapolis Racers of the WHA (for $30,000) as a spot opened up due to a player just being traded to the Edmonton Oilers.
That player was none other than the great one, Wayne Gretzky. He only played 5 games for the Pacers and 47 for the Cincinnati Stingers in the 1978-79 season. His next destination was the Edmonton Oilers in the 1979-1980 NHL season.
The Edmonton Oilers Dynasty years
Messier debuted in the NHL as a second line centre on an Oilers squad that had over 90 percent of the players that would not be part of the first Stanley Cup winning team. Messier played an almost full season netting 12 goals and 33 points for 10th place on the Edmonton Oilers scoring list.
In comparison, Gretzky had 51 goals and 137 points that inaugural NHL season for the Oilers. Dave Lumley and Dave Hunter had more points than Messier that year. Two seasons later, Messier had 50 goals to Gretzky’s 92 goals for second in goal scoring.
He would get 48 goals the next year and then 47 in 1995-1996 season with the New York Rangers and would never get 50 goals again. But, Messier was emerging as leader both on and off the ice during his early years with the Edmonton Oilers.
Messier led by his passion for the game, his fierce competitiveness, his recognizable scary stare and amazing physical condition that resulted in his nickname, the 'Moose'. He punished players on the other team with his physical strength. He patented the play of coming down the far side with speed, picking a corner on the net and releasing a deadly wrist shot to beat the goalie.
He would come with speed, balance and amazing skating ability to weave around players to find a spot in the net. He was never commended enough for his speed but he might have been one of the first players that has amazing strength and speed combined with high hockey IQ. Does that remind you of anyone currently on the Oilers?
Messier would go on to win the Hart Memorial trophy in 1990 and 1992, the Lester B. Pearson Award in 1990 and 1992 (now the Ted Lindsay Award) and the Conn Smythe trophy in 1984. He was a huge part of the 1983-84 Oilers team finishing third in scoring behind Gretzky and Kurri.
His role became more important after Gretzky was traded to the LA Kings in 1988 as Messier was the glue that had to put the team back together as a champion to get them ready for another Stanley Cup run in 1988-1989 (failed attempt) and in1989-90 when they won their 5th Stanley Cup versus the Boston Bruins.
Many speculated that if Gretzky had stayed with the Oilers, they could have won 2-3 more Stanley Cups. Many players on those winning Stanley Cup Edmonton Oilers teams would go on to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Messier with the New York Rangers and breaking their Stanley Cup drought
Messier’s leadership was a great fit for the New York Rangers and was brightly displayed in the Big Apple. He was an instant leader and a loved hockey player in New York. I had the chance to see the Oilers play the Rangers in Madison Square Gardens in 2003 and it was great seeing Messier play again. He led the New York Rangers to their first Stanley Cup in 54 years in 1994.
He has been the only player to captain two teams to Stanely Cup wins. He wrote in this book, No One Wins Alone: “One of the hardest things to do in sport is win when you’re expected to win. When you’re not the favourite, it can be a lot easier to go about your business. It can also light a fire under you.” This was very true of the Oilers team after Gretzky was traded and true for the New York Rangers in 1993-1994 season when they had the most points during that season.
Messier brought the same degree of passion and grit to the Rangers team that he had during his years with the Oilers. In fact, I think he was reborn once traded to the New York Rangers and had a new mission in his hockey life to be a champion one more time. He led the Rangers to the most points in the 1993-94 season.
Then in the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs, the New York Rangers would face two other New York area teams - the New York Islanders in the first round and the New Jersey Devils in the third round en route to meeting the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanely Cup Final (they played the Capitals in round 2). Messier would end up scoring the Stanley Cup winning goal in game 7 of the 1994 Stanely Cup finals for the New York Rangers, exactly 10 years after winning his first Stanely Cup.
Interestingly, Glenn Anderson, Esa Tikanen, Craig MacTavish, Kevin Lowe and a young Michael Peca was on that 1994 cup winning team for the Rangers.
Messier's retirement and life after hockey
Messier retired in 2004 playing his last game for the New York Rangers on March 31, 2004 against the Buffalo Sabres. He retired his number 11 in New York on January 11, 2006 in a game against the Edmonton Oilers. He has been involved in numerous leadership events since leaving hockey in
2004 and the NHL established the Mark Messier Leadership award in 2006. Chris Chelios won the first award for his leadership in the 2006-2007 season, Sydney Crosby for his leadership for the 2000-2010 season and recently by Alex Ovechkin for his leadership in the 2024-25 season.
The Mark Messier Foundation was created by Mark Messier to support, inspire, and empower those in need through sports, healthy living, and education. The Foundation’s mission is to assist programs that make a positive difference. He also helped build The Kingsbridge National Ice Center, a 750,000-square-foot facility in the Bronx as the world’s largest ice sports complex. His leadership continues to shine in his role as a hockey analyst for ESPN in the States.
Connor McDavid or Mark Messier, who is the better captain?
Messier’s passion for hockey, amazing skating ability, physical strength and leading by example can be seen in our current captain, Connor McDavid. McDavid’s leadership is unquestioned on the current version of the Edmonton Oilers.
Like Messier, McDavid is driven by the desire to win the Stanley Cup. He has grown up with Leon, Bouchard, Nurse and others on his team (as Messier did with Gretzky, Kurri, Anderson, Fuhr, Moog, Lowe, Gregg and others) and majority of the time, McDavid shines as the clear leader and heart of the team. Will he be as great as Messier? Or Gretzky? Or Crosby? McTavish said in a quote last year “McDavid is completely driven to a level that I haven't seen since Messier in 1994”.
Messier commented on McDavid in 2024, ‘We’ve never seen a player like this before”. Time will tell but the passion of hockey and winning that the 80s Oilers had lives in McDavid. This drive to win may have been inspired by players such as Crosby, Gretzky, and Messier. We will observe what kind of leader McDavid is in the 2025-26 NHL hockey season. Many of us cannot wait for April to be here for a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup.