Mark Messier
Mark Messier
Mark Douglas Messieris a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League and former special assistant to the president and general manager of the New York Rangers. He played a quarter of a century in the NHLwith the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks. He also played professionally with the World Hockey Association's Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers. He was the last former WHA player to be active in professional hockey, and the last active...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionHockey Player
Date of Birth18 January 1961
CityEdmonton, Canada
CountryCanada
I played with a lot of great players before. They're all the same. They take a lot of responsibility for their own play, put a lot of pressure on themselves to perform and to play well.
As a captain, I think it's important that the players really know who you are and what you stand for, what your beliefs are, and to be consistent in those if things are going good or things are going bad.
I just think overall a lot of it has to do with conditioning and players putting in the time and the effort in the off-season to keep themselves in condition for 12 months a year.
Like I said, a 30-year-old hockey player, even when I came to New York when I was 30, I was on the downside of my career, pretty much the end of my career.
All I was thinking was to try to figure out a way how to make the players believe that I believed that we were going to win.
I've never really thought about any individual records or anything like that for most of my career,
Besides, ... anyone who plays at 50-odd years old deserves that record.
I've always planned to be involved in the game, ... But I don't know in what capacity at this time. I'm going to be open to offers and suggestions and see what fits best.
I was ready for just about anything that anybody could throw at me. I was ready for the challenge of winning the Stanley Cup. I was ready for this city. I wasn't intimidated about coming to New York.
I don't think any one individual can stand alone.
I wouldn't come back to play for that reason, ... I know that was talked about, but there has to be other reasons. I thought I achieved a lot in my 25 years and it was time to go.
One of the best experiences I've had in hockey.
I look up at the banner and I don't see a No. 11 with my name on it. I see all the things and all the people, my family, my parents, so many people who put me in this position to have my number retired. To me it's almost like a highlight reel when I look up there or a flashback of my life in some regards that I can look up there on any given day on any given moment and have something reoccur that was so special.
I've had a long career, I achieved a lot, there was nothing left for me to achieve, and it's time to move aside and go on to something else.