MARK MESSIER

#11

Center

Born 01/18/1961

Edmonton, AB

Height: 6' 1"

Weight: 205 lbs

Shoots: Left

·          Signed as an underage free agent by Indianapolis (WHA) to a 10-game tryout contract, November 5, 1978.

·          Edmonton's 2nd pick in the 1979 Entry Draft (48th Overall).

·          Signed as a free agent by Cincinnati (WHA) after Indianapolis (WHA) franchise folded, December, 1978.

·          Traded to NY Rangers by Edmonton with future considerations (Jeff Beukeboom for David Shaw, November 12, 1991) for Bernie Nicholls, Steven Rice and Louie DeBrusk, October 4, 1991.

 

 

Stanley Cup Winner: 1984

Stanley Cup Winner: 1987

Stanley Cup Winner: 1985

Stanley Cup Winner: 1988

Stanley Cup Winner: 1990

 

Other Oiler accomplishments:

Played in NHL All-Star Game 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004

 

NHL First All-Star Team 1982, 1983, 1990

 

NHL Second All-Star Team 1984

 

Conn Smythe Trophy Winner: 1984

Won Conn Smythe Trophy 1984

 

Hart Trophy Winner: 1990

Won Hart Trophy 1990

 

Lester B. Pearson Award Winner: 1990

Won Lester B. Pearson award 1990

 

Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame November 12, 2007.

 OILERS' STATS:

 SEASON:

GP

G

A

PTS

PIM

 1979-80

75

12

21

33

120

 1980-81

72

23

40

63

102

 1981-82

78

50

38

88

119

 1982-83

77

48

58

106

72

 1983-84

73

37

64

101

165

 1984-85

55

23

31

54

57

 1985-86

63

35

49

84

68

 1986-87

77

37

70

107

73

 1987-88

77

37

74

111

103

 1988-89

72

33

61

94

130

 1989-90

79

45

84

129

79

 1990-91

53

12

51

63

34

 TOTALS:

851

392

641

1,033

1,122

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 PLAYOFFS:

GP

G

A

PTS

PIM

 1979-80

3

1

2

3

2

 1980-81

9

2

5

7

13

 1981-82

5

1

2

3

8

 1982-83

15

15

6

21

14

 1983-84

19

8

18

26

19

 1984-85

18

12

13

25

12

 1985-86

10

4

6

10

18

 1986-87

21

12

16

28

16

 1987-88

19

11

23

34

29

 1988-89

7

1

11

12

8

 1989-90

22

9

22

31

20

 1990-91

18

4

11

15

16

 TOTALS:

166

80

135

215

175

 

Mark Messier's nickname, "the Moose," is a tribute to his size, strength and determination. A player renowned for his leadership abilities and one of the all-time leading NHL scorers, Messier emerged from the great Edmonton Oilers teams of the 1980s to become a hockey superstar. He was a powerful skater who combined playmaking skill and a goal-scoring touch with the toughness necessary to survive and thrive in the corners. Six times his teams sipped from the Stanley Cup and on two occasions Messier took home the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player.

 

Like Gordie Howe, Messier is credited with being the most complete player of his generation. He was a power forward, a two-way left winger and sometime center with talent and overwhelming power and size and an unpredictable mean streak. Messier acquired his multidimensional game during a childhood filled with hockey in his home town of Edmonton. At age four, he was attending his father's minor-league practices. At age 11, he was a stick boy for the Spruce Grove Mets in the Alberta junior leagues, the team he would star on just five years later.

 

Messier was a big kid, just 16 and weighing close to 200 pounds and his talent was so obvious that he skipped major junior and college hockey altogether. The Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association gave him a five game tryout when he was a 17 year-old in 1978. Though he failed to register a point and was released by the Racers just before the franchise folded, he did celebrate his 18th birthday in the pro ranks after the Cincinnati Stingers, a competing WHA team, signed him as a free agent and he played 47 games for that team. In 1979 he was selected by the Edmonton Oilers as the team's second choice, 48th overall in the NHL's Entry Draft.

 

Messier began the 1979-80 season with the Oilers, but the poise and professionalism that would one-day make him the game's premier leader, were still being developed by the NHL rookie. He scored 50 goals in 1981-82, his third season, double his total of the year before, and was selected to the NHL's First All-Star Team.

 

When the Oilers won their first of four Stanley Cup championships in five years in 1984, Messier, on a team with such stars as Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey and Grant Fuhr, was the most valuable player in the playoffs, capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy for his 26 post-season points and his undeniable leadership. Gretzky was a dominant offensive player and Edmonton recorded new highs for team scoring. But the Oilers in their glory years were also a tight defensive group. Messier, fast, powerful and physical, was a perfect two-way player, able to excel at both ends of the ice.

 

Gretzky and Messier were very close during their years in Edmonton. When Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988, Messier was made the Edmonton captain, though many predicted the Oilers' run of success would leave with the Great One. In the 1989 playoffs, the Oilers were upset by Gretzky's Kings in a close first-round series and the skepticism surrounding the team seemed to be merited. One season later, however, in 1989-90, Messier had a career year, finishing second to Gretzky in the points race with 129. He also won the Hart Trophy over Boston's Ray Bourque as the league's most valuable player. In the playoffs, with the Oilers down 2-1 in games to the Chicago Blackhawks in the semifinals, Messier took over in the fourth game, scoring two goals and collecting two assists in Edmonton's 4-2 road win. His one-man display impressed everyone who watched, Chicago players, coaches and fans included, and his all-time performance spurred the Oilers. Edmonton swept the remaining games from Chicago and easily handled Bourque and the Bruins in the finals to give Messier his fifth Stanley Cup ring with Edmonton.

 

The small market Oilers struggled following their 1990 victory, and Messier was traded to the New York Rangers prior to the 1991-92 season for Bernie Nichols, Steven Rice and Louie DeBrusk.