Where do you rank Messier on an all-time list?

[quoipourquoi]

Thats hilarious.... Sad too

I know. I feel bad for only having the backing of The Hockey News, ESPN, statistical records, voting records, and (gasp) my own opinion. Somehow, I think I'll get by... with or without the unanimous agreement of HOH... of which I am a voting member.

 

[Cake or Death]

I think Messier's words are worth a read...

"I can honestly say that I didn't play my career to make it to the Hockey Hall of Fame. I played my career to play well enough to make the NHL, and obviously, when you make the NHL, the goal is to try to win the Stanley Cup and to be a contributing member of a team. That's what I tried to do. Individual statistics — goals and assists — weren't of interest to me. Figuring out a way to win in every individual game was what mattered. As time went along and as I was getting ready to retire, and as it was my turn to be considered for the Hockey Hall of Fame, it was obviously a tremendous honour, not only for the tradition and history of the game and the people who paved the way for all of us to play this great game, but also for what it meant to all the people who helped me along the way. It's never about the individual making it to the Hall of Fame; it's about your minor hockey league coaches, your family, your friends and teammates along the way. That is the epitome of any individual going into the Hockey Hall of Fame. You don't play team sports as an individual; you play with other people as a team, so making it into the Hall of Fame is the greatest compliment of all to the people who helped you along the way."
—Mark Messier, Feb 2009

 

[Infinite Vision*]

Almost 1/3 of the voters think Messier is a top 15 player of all time. It's fair to say he's the most overrated player ever. I honestly don't think he's a top 15 forward of all time let alone player.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Almost 1/3 of the voters think Messier is a top 15 player of all time. It's fair to say he's the most overrated player ever. I honestly don't think he's a top 15 forward of all time let alone player.

Just out of curiosity, did you watch him play when he was in his prime?

 

[RabbinsDuck]

You know, the same people who gave Fedorov the Selke are the same people who deemed Messier the second most valuable player in the NHL, correct?[\qUote]]

I would be interested in a case that Messier's 96 season was better than Fedorov's. Messier, more than perhaps any player since the 50s has benefited from the variable definition of the Hart (most valuable on team vs. Best player in the league). You can argue Messier was more valuable to the Rangers than Fedorov was to the Wings, but that pales in a historical perspective of simply who was the better player, which by literal definition, the Hart does not reward.

Players on teams with 1, 2 or 3 other star players on their team are typically killed in Hart voting - and also if that player's team does not make the playoffs.

 

[seventieslord]

Almost 1/3 of the voters think Messier is a top 15 player of all time. It's fair to say he's the most overrated player ever. I honestly don't think he's a top 15 forward of all time let alone player.

And almost 1/3 think he's out of the top-25. So by that logic, he's also the most underrated player ever!

Crazies on both sides of the debate.

 

[Chairman Maouth]

Just express where Messier is ranked in your opinion.

Right between skunk cabbage and dick-cheese.