One Fine Mess

Mark Messier has been in the news a lot lately. On February 27th, the Edmonton Oilers will honour their hometown hero by retiring his jersey #11. A couple of days ago Messier, lacking the subtlty he never had on or off the ice, made headlines by all but proclaiming himself as the next general manager of the New York Rangers, much to current GM/Messier buddy Glen Sather's surprise.

Though born and raised in Edmonton, Messier sees himself as a New York Ranger, probably the only Oiler great to do so. The Rangers were his team, the Oilers never were, no matter how big of a role he played. But that hasn't stopped Edmonton fans from Moose-schmoozing of late.

Terry Jones, columnist for the Edmonton Sun, leads the way with a brilliant article that provide a rare look into the very private life of Messier.

In "My Life After Hockey," Jones looks at what all Messier has been up to since leaving the game. He gives us a verbal glimpse of the famous "Messier Compound" at Hilton Head, South Carolina. His whole family, including parents, brother and sister live at. Messier is an avid boater, owning 5 boats, often choosing to sail to a nearby property he owns, described by Jones as "a romantic version of a Swiss Family Robinson tree house on Daufauskie Island off Hilton Head - a place that is only accessible by boat."

The article also looks at the very successful business of being Mark Messier. With continuing endorsement deals with the likes of Lays Potato Chips, Cold-FX, and XM Radio, Messier is a busy guy. Plus he has gotten into real estate investment, including owning a small hotel in the Bahamas.

In Thursday's Sun, Jones pens "Emotional Appeal," an article that looks at Messier through the comments of his awe-struck teammates. Although, articles like this always make us Vancouver fans wonder what the hell happened to the legend.

Alexandra Zabjeck of the Edmonton Journal talks about the renaming of St. Albert Trail in Edmonton to Mark Messier Trail, something that makes Messier very emotional.