48 Facts About Mark Messier

Mark John Douglas Messier is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League .

Mark Messier's playing career in the NHL lasted 25 years with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks.

Mark Messier played a short 4 game stint in the original Central Hockey League with the Houston Apollos in 1979.

Mark Messier was the last former WHA player to be active in professional hockey, and the last active player in any of the major North American professional sports leagues to have played in the 1970s.

Mark Messier is considered one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time.

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Mark Messier is second on the all-time list for playoff points and third for regular-season games played and regular-season points .

Mark Messier is a six-time Stanley Cup champion—five with the Oilers and one with the Rangers—and is the only player to captain two teams to Stanley Cup championships.

Mark Messier was known, over the course of his career, as "The Moose" for his aggression and strength.

Mark Messier 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.

In 2017, Mark Messier was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history.

Mark Messier was born in St Albert, Alberta, the son of Mary-Jean and Doug Mark Messier.

Mark Messier was the second son, and third child of four; his siblings are Paul, Mary-Kay, and Jennifer.

The Messier family moved to Portland, Oregon when Mark was young, where Doug played for the Portland Buckaroos of the minor pro Western Hockey League.

Mark Messier attended St Francis Xavier High School in Edmonton as he played junior hockey where Doug was his coach and mentor for his early years.

In 1976 Mark Messier tried out for the junior Spruce Grove Mets of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, where his father, Doug Mark Messier, was coaching.

Mark Messier was not interested in playing in the WHL, so initially tried out for the Canadian Olympic team, which was preparing for the 1980 Winter Olympics.

However Mark Messier only took a 5-game amateur tryout, as it would allow him to return to junior hockey if need be.

In total Mark Messier played 47 games for the Stingers tallying one goal and ten assists.

The players were dispersed to teams that had already owned their NHL rights, or allowed to enter the 1979 NHL Entry Draft; being under 20-years-old Mark Messier was eligible for the draft, and was selected in the third round, 48th overall, by the Edmonton Oilers.

On returning to Edmonton, Mark Messier moved back in with his parents, living at their St Albert home.

Mark Messier was a fierce, tough competitor whose intense leadership in the dressing room was as important as the goals he scored on the ice.

Mark Messier was not initially known as a scorer, but his offensive numbers increased steadily over his first few years with the Oilers.

In 1984, Mark Messier was suspended for ten games for cracking Jamie Macoun's cheekbone with a sucker punch from behind during a game against the Calgary Flames on December 26.

Mark Messier was retaliating for having been boarded by Macoun earlier in the game, but the NHL ruled that he had instigated the fight.

Mark Messier was later charged with hit and run and careless driving, for which he paid a fine.

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Mark Messier won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP that season, edging out the Bruins' Ray Bourque by just two votes, the narrowest margin in the award's history.

Mark Messier issued a public trade demand during the Canada Cup tournament saying that he wanted out if the Oilers were not willing to do what was necessary to keep important players.

Mark Messier became the first player to captain two teams to the Stanley Cup, something his former teammate Wayne Gretzky could not do the year before, and provided two of the most memorable images of that Stanley Cup Finals.

Mark Messier left the club at the conclusion of the season, ending the brief reunion of Mark Messier and Gretzky being together again on the same team after just one season.

At 36 years old, Mark Messier signed with the Vancouver Canucks to a high-priced free agent contract.

Mark Messier's return to Canada after six years with the Rangers was an emotional and high-profile event, but the bliss was brief.

Mark Messier went on to score a goal in that game against his former team where he received applause after doing so even though he wore a different uniform.

Mark Messier was still expected to be named to the Canadian men's hockey team for the 1998 Olympics, in which the NHL allowed its best players to participate for the first time; however, he was surprisingly omitted by General Manager Bobby Clarke.

Mark Messier went one step further and guaranteed that the Rangers would return to the playoffs.

Eleven days later, Mark Messier was the only active player to play in the Legends Game at Edmonton's Heritage Classic, suiting up with the Oiler alumni.

Mark Messier is one of a handful of players to have played 25 NHL seasons, doing so over four decades.

Mark Messier only played with Canada once outside North America, winning the silver medal at the 1989 World Ice Hockey Championships in Sweden.

In February 2007, Mark Messier publicly expressed interest in returning to the NHL as general manager for the Rangers; however, the then-current GM Glen Sather responded by saying he had no plans of stepping down from his position.

In late 2010, Mark Messier coached Canada during two European tournaments—the Deutschland Cup and the Spengler Cup.

Mark Messier occasionally worked as a studio analyst on NHL on Versus, and served an in-game analyst for The NHL All-Star Game on Versus, and has been a guest commentator on NHL on NBC.

In 2014, Mark Messier joined Rogers Communications as a spokesperson and occasional analyst for the company's national NHL coverage.

Mark Messier appeared on various Rogers NHL GameCentre Live advertisements including the Vancouver Canucks-themed ad which drew backlash towards their fanbase.

Mark Messier was featured in a Lay's chips campaign that aired in Canada in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Mark Messier was featured in Lay's ads in the U S where he asked neighbors to borrow ice, sugar or a hairdryer to get chips.

Mark Messier owns the Runaway Hill Club on the pink sand beach on Harbour Island in the Bahamas.

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Mark Messier is an advocate for preventative healthcare and was a spokesperson for Cold-fX.

Mark Messier is involved in philanthropy, including the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund, for which he serves on the Board.

Mark Messier is known for his off-ice charity work, especially in his native Alberta.