Blueshirts by the Numbers: Number 11;"The Captain" - Mark Messier

For the Rangers since him and not a single player comes even remotely close in terms of their ability to lead in the locker room, on the ice and act as the face of the organization. As for other core players from that era, Leetch might have done more on the ice due to a longer tenure with the team and Graves devoted untold amounts of his time to the community but during the mid 90’s and pre-lockout 00’s there was no question who held the reins of the team.

greatest captain of all time. Inspirational player, massive personality.
Mark Messier is one of the top 5 players of all time with Gretzky, Howe, Orr and Lemieux.

’Nuff said.

Never heard of this Mesier character. I guess I will ave to take your word for it..

I’ll never forget the image of Messier coming down the wing lifting a leg up and unleashing that patented wrist shot. Pure class, absolute pure class.

no mention of dave barr is a tragedy!!!!!

i worshipped messier when he arrived in new york (i was 16 at the time of the trade)

he completely and unequivocally changed the culture from the first moment he walked into the locker room, asking to have a table moved from the center of the room because it blocked players’ views on either side

he’s the first one to demand respect for the crest on the locker room floor

he went off on a player for dropping his jersey to the ground and stepping on it while getting undressed, explaining that it should be considered a flag and treated as such

he’s the one who pushed brian leetch from star to superstar to bobby orr clone in the ’94 playoffs

messier’s departure was engineered by checketts & smith because when it came time to renegotiate his contract, checketts famously asked “how long do we have to pay for the cup?” and let him wait in hilton head without negotiating

his second go-around in new york was a complete disaster and taints his legacy a bit, but for everything he was in that magical time from 91-97 he will always be just the captain to me

Messier guaranteeing victory and then coming through. That was an exciting time to be a Ranger fan.

As joereiter said in his post, Mark changed the culture of Rangers hockey. Brought us respect, taught us what it takes to be a champion, gave us hope, confidence and lead us to the Stanley Cup that we craved for so long. Mark was the best player we ever had and will always be because of all of his characteristics including that huge heart that beats inside of him. He was one of the meanest, toughest, hardest players to play against and at the same time he was the best friend, teammate and leader any player could play with. Anyone who has ever had the honor of meeting Mark Messier, and I have on several occasions, has been truly blessed just to have the experience. He is like no other I have ever known and when people tell the stories about how Mark treats everyone with the same respect and consideration from the water guy to the GM, they are not exaggerating. To Mark everyone played an important role because everyone, including us fans, is part of the team. And that is why there will truly never be another Messier. He just happens to be the best and I am so glad I lived through the Messier era. I still cry tears of joy when i see the highlights from 1994. I get goose bumps still to this day! I cried when Mark’s number was retired. I just honestly adore him. When I see the highlight of him saying “thank you, thank you, thank you” to us, i just say no thank YOU Mark. When Mark came to us, I was in my mid teens. I grew up on Long Island in Islander fan country. At that time, the Islanders were an actual team – a good team and the fans were horrible. They used to say to me how can you like the Rangers? They lose every year. They will NEVER win. I used to answer – “it’s called loyalty you should try it sometime and when they do win, it will be the sweetest feeling ever.” I was right because it was. And we swept them along the way which made it even sweeter! We all have Mark to thank because it could never have happened without him teaching us and showing us the way from the moment he arrived in NY to his miracle performance when he guaranteed victory against the Devils and then raising the cup in the Garden for the first time in 54 years. Mark will always be part of my heart and the heart of NY Ranger fans everywhere! I love you Mess!

Messier is not only one of the greatest Rangers of all time, he’s one of the greatest athletes of all time. Period.

We were so lucky to have him here. Honestly, I put a lot of faith in him to bring this club around once he steps into the GM role. Its one huge reason why I do not want Sather fired.

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