Mark Messier

Messier was born in St. Albert, Alberta, the son of Mary-Jean (Dea) and Doug Messier. He 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. The family returned to St. Albert in 1969 after Doug retired from hockey. 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.

Messier's return to Canada after six years with the Rangers was an emotional and high-profile event, but the bliss was brief. Before the season started, captain Trevor Linden relinquished the captaincy to Messier, a move that did not go over well with Canucks supporters. Amidst a turbulent season, in which president and general manager Pat Quinn and head coach Tom Renney were fired, Linden was eventually traded by new coach and acting general manager Mike Keenan to the New York Islanders, where he became their captain, replacing Bryan McCabe, for whom Linden was traded along with Todd Bertuzzi. Messier's demand to receive the number No. 11, which he had worn throughout his career with the Oilers and Rangers, but which the Canucks had unofficially retired after Wayne Maki's unexpected death in 1974, hurt his image as well.

In 1976 Messier tried out for the junior Spruce Grove Mets of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), where his father, Doug Messier, was coaching. As Messier was only 15 (the age limit for the league was 20), Doug did not expect him to make the team, though he surprised and was added to the roster. Messier recorded 66 points in 57 games with the Mets in the 1976–77 season. The team, which relocated to St. Albert the following season and was renamed the St. Albert Saints, named Messier captain for 1977–78, and he scored 74 points in 54 games. At the conclusion of the season he joined the Portland Winterhawks of the major junior Western Hockey League (WHL) (not the same league Doug played in) for the playoffs, appearing in 7 games and scoring 5 points.

Messier's brother Paul was drafted by the Colorado Rockies 41st overall in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft, but he only played nine games with the club in 1978–79 before embarking on a long career in the German Eishockey-Bundesliga. Paul helps manage a hotel that Messier owns in Harbour Island, Bahamas. Messier's cousins Mitch and Joby also skated for NHL clubs. Joby was briefly Mark's teammate on the Rangers.

Messier played 13 games with the Saints to start the season, then joined the Racers on November 5 for his professional debut against the Winnipeg Jets. He played four games with the Racers, followed by a further two more with the Saints, before his final game with Indianapolis on November 28. Offered a longer contract, Messier held off on signing it, which proved fortuitous as the team folded on December 15; his only cheque from them bounced. Returning to the Saints, Messier played his final two games of junior hockey for them before he was signed by the Cincinnati Stingers, also of the WHA. Messier signed a contract for $35,000 to play the rest of the season with the Stingers. He scored his first professional goal on March 20, 1979 against Pat Riggin of the Birmingham Bulls. In total Messier played 47 games for the Stingers tallying one goal and ten assists.

Initially a left winger (he was named to the NHL First All-Star Team in 1982–83 on left wing), Messier switched to centre in the 1984 playoffs, and the results were spectacular. In Game 3 of the 1984 Finals, for example, with his Oilers trailing the four-time defending champion New York Islanders by a goal, it was Messier's goal on a brilliant end-to-end rush that sparked a comeback by the Oilers. By the end of the series the Oilers had won their first Stanley Cup and Messier had earned the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player of the playoffs.

In 1984, 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. Messier was retaliating for having been boarded by Macoun earlier in the game, but the NHL ruled that he had instigated the fight.

On September 6, 1985, Messier lost control of his Porsche and totaled it by hitting three parked cars. He was later charged with hit and run and careless driving, for which he paid a fine.

Messier's son Lyon was born on August 16, 1987, and is a former defenceman who spent part of two seasons with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL, and both the Charlotte Checkers and New Mexico Scorpions of the Central Hockey League. Messier's wife Kim gave birth to Mark's second son, Douglas Paul, on July 15, 2003, and daughter Jacqueline Jean in August 2005.

Messier is mentioned in the 1987 episode of Cheers called "Never Love a Goalie, Part 2" and briefly the 1995 episode of Seinfeld called "The Face-Painter". He's also mentioned in Episode 11 of Season 1 of Everybody Loves Raymond where Debra claims Ally gives a boy a "hip check Iike Mark Messier".

Though Messier was actually under contract to the Oilers until 1993, his agent and father Doug Messier unsuccessfully pressed Oilers President and GM Glen Sather for a new deal in the summer of 1990. After the 1990–91 season, Messier was upset that the Oilers were willing to let Adam Graves leave the team. 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. On October 4, 1991, in one of many cost-cutting moves by Edmonton management, Messier was traded to the New York Rangers for Louie DeBrusk, Bernie Nicholls, and Steven Rice.

Down 3–2 in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals against the rival New Jersey Devils, Messier confronted the New York media and publicly guaranteed a Game 6 victory. With fans and players on both sides reading the news headline, it then became a feat comparable to Babe Ruth's called shot and Joe Namath's Super Bowl III guarantee, and he backed it up by scoring a natural hat trick in the third period on an empty net goal with ESPN commentator Gary Thorne boasting, "Do you believe it?! Do you believe it?! He said we will win game six and he has just picked up the hat trick!" It helped the Rangers erase a two-goal deficit. The Rangers went on to win the series in a thrilling seventh game double overtime nail biter.

On June 30, 2003 Mark Messier's rights were traded to the San Jose Sharks for a fourth round draft pick. This draft pick ended up being used to select Rochester, NY native and future Rangers captain Ryan Callahan. The Sharks held his rights for just a few hours as he would eventually go on to re-sign with the Rangers as a free agent.

On November 4, 2003, against the Dallas Stars, Messier scored a pair of goals to vault past Gordie Howe into second on the all-time point scoring list with 1,851 points, second-most in League history trailing only Wayne Gretzky. Eleven days later, Messier was the only active player to play in the Legends Game at Edmonton's Heritage Classic, suiting up with the Oiler alumni and making many light-hearted comments about being Edmonton's "ringer." During his last game at Madison Square Garden (A 4-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on March 31, 2004), Messier received applause every time he touched the puck and, after the game, received a standing ovation while he skated around the Garden and bowed to every section of the stands. At the age of 43, most media outlets believed Messier had decided to quit. The NHL lockout eliminated the next season. All speculation ended on September 12, 2005, when he announced his retirement on ESPN radio.

On January 12, 2006, during a very emotional ceremony that featured most of the 1994 Stanley Cup team and the Stanley Cup itself, the New York Rangers retired his number 11 in a game against the Edmonton Oilers. During the game, the Rangers defeated the Oilers. His is the 4th number retired by the Rangers. His number was retired by the Edmonton Oilers on February 27, 2007, against the Phoenix Coyotes, then coached by former teammate Wayne Gretzky.

In February 2007, 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. With the departure of Assistant GM Don Maloney from the Rangers organization in May 2007, Messier's name had been attached to possible replacements; however, in July 2007, Jim Schoenfeld was announced as Maloney's replacement. On November 12, 2007, Messier was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the players category.

Messier is an advocate for preventative healthcare and spokesperson for Cold-fX. He is also involved in philanthropy, including the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund, for which he serves on the Board. Messier is also known for his off-ice charity work, especially in his native Alberta. In Edmonton, a section of St. Albert Trail between St. Albert and the City of Edmonton, was renamed to Mark Messier Trail on February 26, 2007.

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

Messier also remains active in the City of New York, with Messier playing for the New York Rangers at the 2012 NHL Winter Classic Alumni Game in Philadelphia between the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers on December 31, 2011. Messier had 1 assist during the game, which was won 3-1 by Philadelphia. Messier also ran in the New York City Marathon on November 6, 2011, finishing with a time of 4:14:21. Messier, alongside Sarah Hughes, is also involved in the construction of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, a $250 million USD, 795,000 square foot redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx into a world's-largest indoor ice facility, containing nine ice rinks.

After his retirement, Messier appeared in a Versus television special in the United States highlighting his "Mark Messier Leadership Camp," which allowed New Yorkers to mix seminars in leadership and working with others with hockey games against former Rangers, including a scrimmage at Madison Square Garden. 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, Messier joined Rogers Communications as a spokesperson and occasional analyst for the company's national NHL coverage. He appeared on various Rogers NHL GameCentre Live advertisements including the Vancouver Canucks-themed ad which drew backlash towards their fanbase.