Biography Of Mark Messier

Position: Center
Name: Mark Douglas Messier
Nickname: " Mess "
Shoots: Left
Height: 6'1" 
Weight: 205 
Birth Date: 01/18/61
Age: 36 
Place of Birth: Edmonton, Alberta
Currently Resides: Hilton Head, South Carolina
Year  Drafted:  1979
Round Drafted:   3
Overall Choice: 48
Sweater Number: 11
Type Of Hockey Stick: Louisville
Current Status: On the Vancouver Roster

Mark Messier is one of the premier players in the league. He is famous for his leadership on the ice and in locker room considered one of the best leader's in sports. Mark is an excellent player he is famous for his off wing wrong foot wristed shot which he scored hundreds of goals with ,very accurate shooter, he also has a very lethal backhand, and he sees the ice extremly well. After signing with Vancouver in the summer of 1997 Mark Messier looks to capture his 7th Stanley up ring.

Career Notes

Given five game trial by Indianapolis Racers(November 1978)

Signed as a free agent by Cinncinnati Stingers(January 1979)

Selected by Edmonton Oilers in third round(the Oilers second pick, 48th overall)of NHL entry draft(August 9,1979)

First NHL game was October 10, 1979 vs. Chicago

First NHL goal was October 13, 1979 vs. Detroit

1980-81 Improved his point totals from 33 to 63, 35 of the 63 were scored in his final 24 games

1980-81 Collected first NHL three-point effort (all assists) on Jan. 28 vs. Montreal

1980-81 Collected first four-point outing (two goals, two assists) on Mar. 3 vs. the Islanders

1980-81 Potted his first hat trick on Mar. 16 vs. Pittsburgh

1980-81 Helped Edmonton to a three-game sweep of Montreal in the first round of the playoffs

1981-82 Blossomed into one of the NHL's premier players, scoring 50 goals and being tabbed as the NHL's First-Team All-Star left wing

1982-83 Scored over 100 points for the first time, collecting 48 goals and 58 assists for 106 points

1982-83 Placing seventh in the NHL and second on Edmonton, behind Wayne Gretzky on scoring list

1982-83 Tabbed as the NHL's First-Team All-Start left wing

1982-83 Registered his first NHL four-goal game on Dec. 18 vs. Montreal

1982-83 Helped Oilers to their first-ever Stanley Cup Finals, despite playing with a sore shoulder

1982-83 Led team in playoffs with 15 goals in 15 games, including a four-goal outing vs. Calgary on Apr. 14

1983-84 Scored over 100 points for the second consecutive season and was named as the NHL's Second-Team All-Star left wing

1983-84 Began playing regularly at center ice on Feb. 15

1983-84 Led the Oilers in PIM with 165

1983-84 Posted a career high six assists vs. Minnesota on Jan. 4

1983-84 Led Edmonton to a record of 57-18-5 for 119 points and on to the first Stanley Cup in team history

1983-84 Captured the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff's MVP, tallying eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points

1984-85 Limited to only 55 games due to a left knee injury suffered on Nov. 4 vs. Winnipeg that caused him to miss 15 contests

1984-85 Sat out a 10 game suspension for an altercation with Calgary's Jamie Macoun

1984-85 Collected 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points in 18 playoff matches, helping Edmonton to their second consecutive Stanley Cup

1985-86 For the second season in a row his playing time was limited due to injury, as he suffered a left foot injury on Dec. 3 and missed 17 contests

1986-87 Went over the 100-point plateau for the third time, tying for third in the NHL's scoring race with 107 points (37 goals, 70 assists)

1986-87 70 assists ranked third in the NHL and placed second on the club

1986-87 Member of the NHL team at Rendez-Vous '87 and was named the first star in Game One

1986-87 Ranked second in NHL in playoff scoring with 28 points, Helped Oilers win their third Stanley Cup

1987-88 Notched over 100 points for the fourth time in his career

1987-88 Ranked second on Edmonton and fifth in the NHL with 74 assists and 111 points and placed fifth on club with 37 goals

1987-88 Registered 33 multiple-point games, including five, four-point games and one, five-point performance on Feb. 23 vs. St. Louis

1987-88 Led the team with seven gwg's

1987-88 Outstanding playoff performance included a 14-game scoring streak, along with four, four-point efforts 23 playoff assists and 34 playoff points were second in NHL along with his 11 goals, helping Edmonton to their fourth Stanley Cup

1988-89 Named captain of the Oilers before the start of the season after Gretzky was traded to L.A.

1988-89 Led the club and placed seventh in the NHL with 61 assists, 94 points was third on team

1989-90 Established career highs with 84 assists and 129 points and won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP

1989-90 Was also named winner of the Lester B. Pearson Award by the Players Association as the NHL's Outstanding Player

1989-90 A First-Team NHL All-Star

1989-90 Winner of The Sporting News and Hockey News Player of the Year Awards

1989-90 Assist and point totals placed second in NHL, while he led the Oilers in each category, as well as in goals (45) and shots (211)

1989-90 Registered at least one point in all but 15 contests and on only one occasion failed to register a point in back-to-back games

1989-90 Collected 41 multiple point games including, a five-point performance (one goal, four assists) on Jan. 25 vs. L.A.

1989-90 Appeared in a career high 79 games, resting for the final regular-season contest

1989-90 Tied for NHL lead in playoff scoring with 31 points and led NHL with 22 playoff assists

1989-90 Also recorded an 11-game point scoring streak in playoffs, leading the Oilers to their fifth Stanley Cup

1990-91 Limited to a career low 53 games due to two different injuries

1990-91 Injured his left knee on Oct. 16 vs. St. Louis and missed 19 games and fractured his left thumb on Feb. 18, sitting out the next eight games

1990-91 Edmonton was 29-20-4 with him in the lineup and 8-17-2 without him

October 4, 1991 Traded by the Edmonton Oilers with future considerations to the New York Rangers for C Bernie Nicholls, LW Louie DeBrusk, RW Steven Rice, and future

1991-92 Made Rangers debut the following night at the Montreal Forum and was named team captain before the home opener on Oct. 7

October 12, 1991 Oilers traded D Jeff Beukeboom to Rangers for D David Shaw to complete deal

1991-92 Swept all of the MVP post season awards, including the Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP, becoming the first Ranger to win the award since Andy Bathgate in '58-59

1991-92 Captured the Pearson Award as the league's top player as voted by all NHL players

1991-92 The Sporting News Player of the Year Award and The Hockey News Player of the Year Award

1991-92 While also earning a first-team All-Star berth

1991-92 Led team in scoring with 107 points, falling two points shy of tying Jean Ratelle's franchise record for most points in a single season

1991-92 Tied for fifth in NHL with 107 points and 72 assists

1991-92 Ranked third in the NHL with 65 even-strength points and placed second with nine shorthanded points

1991-92 Led club with three hat tricks, including a four-goal game vs. Devils on Mar. 22

1991-92 Registered a career high 15-game point scoring streak from Feb. 5 to Mar. 7

1991-92 Placed third on the club in playoff scoring with 14 points, despite missing two games due to a back injury

1991-92 Set team record for most assists by a center in a season (72), breaking Mike Rogers' mark of 65 set in '81-82

1991-92 Joined Ratelle, Rogers, Vic Hadfield and Brian Leetch as the only players in club history to record 100 points in a season

1992-93 Skated in his 1,000th NHL game at New Jersey on Apr. 7

1992-93 Notched the fourth highest single-season assist total in Rangers history with 66

1992-93 Tied his career-high with six-point effort at Pittsburgh on Nov. 25

1992-93 Ranked first on the team with 66 assists and 91 points

1992-93 Led the team with 30 power play points

1992-93 Was named to the All-Star team for the 11th consecutive season, but missed the game due to injury

1993-94 Placed second on the team with 81 points

1993-94 Tied for first on the club with 24 multiple-point games

1993-94 Notched his 800th assist on Dec. 4 at Toronto

1993-94 Moved past Alex Delvecchio into 10th place on the NHL's All-Time Scoring list with two points on Jan. 31 vs. Pittsburgh

1993-94 Tallied a pair of assists on Mar. 2 vs. Quebec, moving past Delvecchio into 10th place on the NHL's All-Time Assist list

1993-94 Registered an 11-game point scoring streak from Jan. 14 to Feb. 9

1993-94 Tied for first in the NHL with seven shorthanded assists

1993-94 Assisted on 23 of Adam Graves club record 52 goals overall

1993-94 Notched four assists for the seventh time in his career on Feb. 2 vs. the Islanders

1993-94 Made his 12th NHL All-Star appearance on Jan. 22 at MSG, while serving as captain of the Eastern Conference

1994 PLAYOFFS Placed second on the team and third in the NHL with 30 points in 23 matches

1994 PLAYOFFS Netted the Stanley Cup clinching goal on June 14 in Game Seven

1994 PLAYOFFS Tied for second on the team with seven points in the Finals

1994 PLAYOFFS Notched his fourth career playoff hat trick (first as a Ranger), including the game-tying and winning goals on May 25 in Game Six of the Conference Finals at New Jersey

1994 PLAYOFFS Set a club record for goals in one playoff year with 12

1994 PLAYOFFS Tallied a point in each of the first 13 matches and in 21 of the 23 post-season matches

1994 PLAYOFFS Tied for first in the NHL with four game-winning goals and ranked third in the league with a plus 14 rating

1994 PLAYOFFS Registered a goal on Apr. 18 in Game Two of the Conference Quarterfinals vs. the Islanders, moving past Glenn Anderson into third place on the NHL's all-time playoff goal scoring list

1994 PLAYOFFS Won his sixth Stanley Cup and the first one in 54 years for the Rangers

His sixth Stanley Cup and bringing an end to a 54 year drought in New York

1994-95 Led the team and tied for 10th in the NHL with 53 points

1994-95 Also led the club with 39 assists, ranking fifth in the NHL

1994-95 Tied for third on the club with 14 goals and tied for second on the team with a plus eight rating

1994-95 Tallied four assists on Apr. 14 vs. Boston, moving past Guy Lafleur into eighth place on the NHL's All Time Scoring list

1994-95 Posted an assist in eight consecutive games from Apr. 12 to Apr. 26, tallying 19 assists over the span

1994-95 The streak tied for the longest in the NHL

1994-95 The streak also tied the longest assist streak of his career

1994-95 Collected a pair of assists on the power play on Apr. 24 vs. Washington, moving past Phil Esposito into eighth place on the NHL's All-Time Assist list

1994-95 Tallied four assists on Apr. 18 at Pittsburgh

1994-95 Registered three assists, on Apr. 26 vs. Tampa Bay, tying John Bucyk for seventh place on the NHL's All-Time Scoring List

1994-95 Tallied 25 points (three goals, 22 assists) in his last 15 games and 35 points (six goals, 29 assists) in his last 25 matches

1994-95 Registered his third shorthanded goal of the season on Mar. 15 vs. Philadelphia and tied for third in the NHL with three shorthanded goals

1994-95 Collected a point in 30 of his 46 matches

1994-95 Rangers were 18-10-2 when he registered a point and 3-12-1 when he didn't

1994-95 Registered two game-winning goals and assisted on seven game winners, ranking first on the team with nine points on game-winning goals

1994-95 Led the club with 15 multiple-point games

1994-95 Led the team with 16 assists and 25 points vs. the Atlantic Division

1994-95 Placed second on the team with 13 points in the post-season, tallying three goals and 10 assists

1994-95 Tallied a goal on May 24 in Game Three of the conference semi-finals vs. Philadelphia, tying Jari Kuri for second place on the NHL's all-time playoff goal scoring list with 102

1994-95 Also, tied Don Maloney for third place on the Rangers playoff scoring list with 57 points

1995-96 Was selected as a finalist for the Hart Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player

1995-96 Captured the Rangers MVP Award as voted by the media for the second consecutive season and third time in his five years with the club

1995-96 Also, won the Player's Player Award and the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award for the second consecutive season

1995-96 Led the team and was tied for 13th in the NHL in scoring with 99 points

1995-96 Led the team and tied for ninth in the NHL with 47 goals

1995-96 Reached the 40 goal plateau for the fourth time (first as a Ranger)

1995-96 Became the 15th player in Rangers history to notch at least 40 goals in a single season

1995-96 Posted the sixth highest single season point total in club history and the fifth highest single season goal total

1995-96 Ranked second on the team with 52 assists

1995-96 Collected a point in 54 of his 74 matches overall

1995-96 Registered at least three shots on goal in 51 of his 74 matches

1995-96 New York was 25-5-4 when he tallied a goal and 36-9-9 when he recorded a point

1995-96 New York was 1-7-0 when he was not in the lineup

1995-96 Missed the final six games due to injury

1995-96 32 of his 47 goals and 58 of his 99 points were tallied at even strength, ranking first on the team

1995-96 Posted 28 multiple-point games, including five, four-point efforts, eight, three-point outings and 15, two point matches

1995-96 Ranked first on the team with 28 goals and 55 points at MSG and ranked second on the club with 27 assists on home ice

1995-96 Led the club with 44 points on the road (19 goals, 25 assists)

1995-96 Tallied five game winning goals and notched an assist on seven game winners, tying for first on the team with 12 points on game winning goals

1995-96 Registered a plus 27 rating over his last 60 matches and tied for first on the team with a plus 29 rating

1995-96 Notched a goal on Apr. 2 vs. New Jersey, moving into fifth place on the NHL's all time scoring list with 1,468 points

1995-96 Registered a power play assist on Mar. 13 vs. Florida, moving into sixth place on the NHL's all-time assist list

1995-96 Recorded his 17th career hat trick on Nov. 12, vs. Calgary, becoming the 21st player in NHL history to tally 500 career goals

Scoring number 500 in fashion with a hat trick vs. Calgary

1995-96 Appeared in his 13th NHL All-Star Game on Jan. 20 at Boston and tallied an assist on Ray Bourque's game winning goal

1995-96 Won the shooting accuracy portion of the Skills Competition on Jan. 19

1995-96 Was named NHL Player of the Week for the week ending Nov. 12, tallying six goals and three assists in four games

1995-96 Tallied a pair of assists on Oct. 16 vs. Hartford, moving past John Bucyk into seventh place on the NHL's All-Time Point Scoring List

1995-96 Notched an assist on Dec. 21 at Philadelphia, moving past Bryan Trottier into sole possession of seventh place on the NHL's All-Time Assist list

1995-96 Registered three assists, including the 900th of his career, on Dec. 15 at Buffalo

1995-96 Notched his 1,400th career point with an assist on Dec. 4, becoming the seventh player in NHL history to reach the plateau

1995-96 Was named NHL Player of the Month for December, tallying 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 17 matches, including two game-winning goals and a plus nine rating

1995-96 Tallied a pair of goals and added an assist on the power play, moving past Bryan Trottier into sixth place on the NHL's All-Time Scoring list on Jan. 3 vs. Montreal

1996-97 Placed second on the team and tied for 15th in the NHL with 84 points

1996-97 Ranked first on the club and tied for 14th in the NHL with 36 goals

1996-97 Ranked third on the team and tied for 17th in the NHL with 47 assists

1996-97 Collected 19 of his 36 goals and 43 of his 84 points on the road, ranking first on the club

1996-97 Ranked first on the club with 17 goals at MSG

1996-97 Tied for first place on the Rangers single season shorthanded goal list (five)

1996-97 Tied for second in the NHL with five shorthanded goals and ranked fifth with six shorthanded assists, ranking first in the NHL with 11 shorthanded points

1996-97 Ranked first on the club and tied for second in the NHL with nine game-winning goals

1996-97 Ranked first on the club with 14 game-winning points (nine goals, five assists)

1996-97 New York was 19-6-1 when he scored a goal and 29-14-4 when he tallied a point

1996-97 Registered a power play goal and added a shorthanded tally on Oct. 25 at Florida, moving past Stan Mikita into sole possession of 15th place on the NHL All-Time goal scoring list with 542

1996-97 Tallied a pair of goals, including one on the power play, moving into sole possession of 14th place on the NHL's All-Time goal scoring list with 545, on Nov. 16 at Pittsburgh

1996-97 Recorded three assists, including the game-tying assist, on the power play, on Oct. 5 at Boston

1996-97 Notched a pair of goals, including a shorthanded, game-winning tally on Nov. 27 at Colorado

1996-97 Was named NHL Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 25 through Dec. 1, posting seven points (five goals, two assists), including a pair of game-winning goals in three contests

1996-97 Posted an eight-game scoring streak from Nov. 16 to Dec. 1, collecting nine goals and five assists over the span

1996-97 Registered nine shots on goal on Nov. 26 vs. Phoenix, tying for the second highest single game total in his career

1996-97 Posted a four-game scoring streak from Dec. 22 to Dec. 30, registering nine points (four goals, five assists), along with a plus four rating over the span

1996-97 Recorded his 18th career hat trick on Nov. 26 at Phoenix

1996-97 Registered a pair of goals, including the game-winning, shorthanded tally and added two assists on Dec. 22 vs. Florida

1996-97 Registered an assist on Adam Graves' game-tying, power play goal, on Jan. 6 vs. Colorado, moving into sole possession of 10th place on the Rangers all-time point scoring list

1996-97 Posted a four-game scoring streak from Jan. 2 to Jan. 8, collecting seven points (four goals, three assists), along with a plus six rating over the span

1996-97 Notched a goal and added three assists, including two on the power play, and one on Adam Graves' game-winning tally on Jan. 25 at Pittsburgh, moving into sole possession of 15th place on the Rangers all-time goal scoring list (174)

1996-97 Was named to the 1997 Eastern Conference All-Star team, marking his 12th consecutive All-Star appearance

1996-97 Became the fifth player in NHL history to record 1,500 career points on Dec. 22 vs. Florida

1996-97 Notched his fifth shorthanded goal of the season and added an assist on Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay

1996-97 Posted a 10-game scoring streak from Jan. 12 to Feb. 8, collecting 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) over the span

1996-97 Notched his 19th career hat trick, including the game-winning tally on Feb. 8 at Long Island, tying Ron Greschner for 12th place on the Rangers all-time goal scoring list (179)

1996-97 Recorded his 500th point as a Ranger with an assist on Adam Graves' third period goal on Feb. 21 at Hartford

1996-97 Recorded 20 points (four goals, 16 assists) in his last 17 contests

1996-97 Collected a goal on Mar. 21 vs. Detroit, while moving into sole possession of 10th place on the NHL's All-Time goal scoring list (574), moving past Mike Bossy

1996-97 Recorded three assists, including two shorthanded, on Mar. 6 at Los Angeles, while moving into sole possession of ninth place on the Rangers all-time point scoring list (504)

1996-97 Registered a plus or even rating in 33 of his last 49 games, notching a plus 13 rating over the span, after registering a minus three in his first 14 games

1997 Signed a 3 year 21 million dollar contract with Vancouver a 4th and 5th year option

1997-1998 Named the Vancouver Canuck captian on Oct. 20

Career Records/Highlights

Holds NHL career playoff record for most shorthanded goals-14

Shares NHL single game playoff record for most shorthanded goals-2(April 21, 1992)

Three goal games: 1980-81(1),1981-82(2),1982-83(1),1983-84(2),1985-86(1),1987-88(1),1989-90(2),1991-92(2),1995-96(1)Total: 13

Four goal games: 1982-83(1),1988-89(1),1989-90(1),1991-92(1)Total: 4

Total number of hat tricks: 17

Miscellaneous

Captain of the Edmonton Oilers from 1988-89 through 1990-91

Captain of the New York Rangers from 1991-92 through ???

Has raised over $500,000 for the Tomorrows Children's Fund over the last three seasons after establishing the Mark Messier Point Club in 1993

Visits the hospital during the season and often brings children to practices and games throughout the year

Appeared with teammate Brian Leetch in December of 1991 on the "Late Night with David Letterman" show in a skit that had the pair trying to break a camera with slapshots

Also, appeared with Leetch and Richter with the Stanley Cup on the Late Show with David Letterman following the Stanley Cup Championship in 1994

Also, appeared on The Howard Stern Show and threw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium following the Cup victory

Became first player in league history to serve as captain for two different Stanley Cup-winning teams

Helped Team Canada to three Canada Cup championships in 1984, 1987 and 1991

Also played for Team Canada in the 1989 World Championships at Stockholm, Sweden

Was a member of the NHL team at Rendez-Vous '87


Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky back with the Edmonton Oilers

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