Mark Messier

Big Phil

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Nov 2, 2003
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He played with the Rangers for 10 years in total and the Oilers for 12. He won 5 Cups with the Oilers, just one with the Rangers. He won a Conn Smythe and a Hart as an Oiler. Just one Hart as a Ranger. Most of his best years were as an Oiler. His only noteworthy years as a Ranger were 1991-'97.

If there is one thing that might make him considered to be more of a "Ranger" then it is 1994. He was pretty much the "man" on that team and 1994 is a year much like 1967 to the Maple Leafs. It tends to get overrated a bit. I mean, Adam Graves of all people has his number retired.

But for anyone who saw his entire body of work in the NHL, there is little doubt he is an Oiler
 

blogofmike

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Dec 16, 2010
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He's an Oiler.

It's just that a lot of Oilers became Rangers for some reason.
 

quoipourquoi

Goaltender
Jan 26, 2009
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Believe me Canuck fans want to forget that, that useless bum ever wore a Vancouver uniform.

reckoning said:
Vancouver ('97-'98 to '99-'00):
With Messier: 71-103-33; .423
Without Messier: 7-24-8; .282


He was the face of the Rangers franchise for ten years, and most Ranger fans will cite him as the most important player in the franchise's history. Despite being credited by Kevin Lowe as the soul of the Oilers, he was overshadowed by some dude from Brantford for all but three seasons.

Personally, I see him as a Ranger, because it was in a New York uniform where he elevated himself from Mark Messier (the future first ballot HOFer) into MARK MESSIER (a reasonable franchise alternative to Wayne and Mario).
 

Stephen

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Feb 28, 2002
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I ask this because while the reasonable thing would be to say he's an Oiler, he did achieve an iconic presence after 1994 that I don't think he had with the Oilers being overshadowed by Gretzky for most of the 80s. His double tour with the Rangers and his involvement with the Rangers in a management role under Glen Sather makes me think that the Edmonton born and raised star has really become a full blown New Yorker/Ranger.
 

JackSlater

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Apr 27, 2010
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For questions like this I mainly consider which team a player played more seasons for during their prime. I would say that Edmonton had three or four more seasons worth of prime Messier, so he is an Oiler.
 

TheDevilMadeMe

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Aug 28, 2006
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I think most people of the 25-35 year old age group would always think of him as a Ranger, even if he accomplished more with the Oilers.
 

pirate94

Registered User
Mar 18, 2010
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i'll always think of him as an Oiler, i think that was his best hockey. Rangers was good too, but for me an Oiler.
 

lextune

I'm too old for this.
Jun 9, 2008
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He'll always be an Oiler to me. A dirty, slashing, elbowing Oiler.

...yeah, I'm still bitter about '88 and '90, lol.
 

Big Phil

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Nov 2, 2003
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Saying Messier is a Ranger is akin to thinking of Gretzky as a King. If anyone thinks that they didn't see hockey in the 1980s. If you saw both eras you don't even need to ask.
 

TheMoreYouKnow

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May 3, 2007
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Certainly one of the tougher choices but I'm tending towards Rangers. Why? He won a lot of Cups with the Oilers and had his statistically best years there but he was the main guy only for one of Edmonton's Cups and that was, what, the 5th for the team and most of the players. And as much as people protest, that does take the luster off a bit.

With the Rangers he was the main guy and captain of the one team that won the Cup in now 70 years. And that in New York City. If you do a Google Image search for "Messier Cup" like 80% of hits on the first page are him in a Rangers sweater. That's I think the bigger iconic image of Messier now so I'd say all things considered Ranger even if it goes against the "logic" of the numbers.
 

TheMoreYouKnow

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May 3, 2007
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Saying Messier is a Ranger is akin to thinking of Gretzky as a King. If anyone thinks that they didn't see hockey in the 1980s. If you saw both eras you don't even need to ask.

But that's subjective as well, of course if you watched hockey in 1985 your first impression of him would be one in an Oilers sweater so it'd stick and have automatic preference over the Rangers time. There's no non-subjective answer to the question really.
 

ozzie

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Aug 3, 2005
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Australia
Its simple for me, He is an Oiler.

Winning that cup in 1990 was so important for himself and the Oilers team. Winning without Gretzky really helped to make Messier the beast he was.

If he had not won that Cup, I might lean toward Rangers. If that makes sense.
 

WheatiesHockey

Registered User
Dec 19, 2006
585
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I am a Ranger fan who lived in Edmonton at the time.
To me at least, Messier was first and last an Oiler.
I was oh so happy with the Cup and I can die in peace thing now.
I never ever wanted a Ranger team composed of players who played their best hockey somewhere else.
Messier was great as a Ranger. The same thing could be said about Gretzky as an LA King. Almost magic, but not quite is how to put it.
 

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