Mark Messier.

Mark Messier. Mark Messier, born in 1961, Canadian professional ice hockey player, who helped spark the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL) to five Stanley Cup championships between 1984 and 1990. A fan favorite because of his powerful and aggressive play as a center, Messier also helped the New York Rangers win a Stanley Cup title in 1994. Mark Douglas Messier was born in Edmonton, Alberta. After playing with two World Hockey Association (WHA) teams during the 1978-79 season, he made his NHL debut in the fall of 1979 with the Edmonton Oilers. He emerged as one of the top players in the NHL during the 1981-82 season by scoring 50 goals and was named to the NHL All-Star team for the first time. Messier's strong postseason play in 1984, teamed with the skills of high-scoring center Wayne Gretzky and defenseman Paul Coffey, gained the Oilers their first Stanley Cup title. Messier also earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player (MVP). Despite being injured during most of the 1984-85 season, Messier again excelled during the 1985 playoffs, and the Oilers won a second Stanley Cup. Edmonton also won the title with Messier in 1987 and 1988. Messier turned in his finest performance during the 1989-90 season after Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. Playing as Edmonton's frontline center and team captain, Messier collected a career-high 129 points, won the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP, and led the Oilers to their fifth Stanley Cup. After an injury-interrupted 1990-91 season, however, Messier was traded to New York. Messier totaled 107 points in 1991-92, earning a second Hart Trophy. In 1993-94 the Rangers won the Stanley Cup and he became the first NHL player to serve as captain of two different championship teams. Before the start of the 1997-98 season Messier signed as a free agent with the Vancouver Canucks, where he played for three years before returning to the Rangers. In September 2005 Messier retired after 25 seasons in the NHL. He finished his career with 694 goals and 1,193 assists (for a total of 1,887 points) in 1,756 games. These numbers placed him second to Gretzky in career points, second to Gordie Howe in total games played, and third in career assists behind Gretzky and Ron Francis. In 236 postseason games Messier scored 109 goals and had 186 assists, second only to Gretzky in both categories. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.