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April 29, 2009

Stanley Cup Legends: The Messiah, Mark Messier

Like Patrick Roy, Mark Messier's playoff legacy is divided into two eras with two teams.

He started with his hometown Edmonton Oilers, winning five Stanley Cups in seven seasons between 1984 and 1990. Though the Oilers were Wayne Gretzky's team, Messier was Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP in the Oilers first championship in 1984. And it was definitely Mark Messier's Oilers that won the 1990 Stanley Cup, just 2 seasons after trading the Great One.

Messier took his five Stanley Cup rings and a bunch of former Oilers teammates with him to Manhattan where he became captain of the New York Rangers. In 1994 Messier became "the Messiah" in New York, leading the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup championship since 1940.

Messier's signature contribution in those 1994 playoffs came with his team down 3 games to 2 to the New Jersey Devils in the 1994 Eastern Conference final. Messier guaranteed New York fans that the Rangers would win Game 6 and return home for the seventh and deciding contest. The Rangers not only won the game 4-2, but Messier backed up his bold prediction by scoring a hat trick.

Full Mark Messier Biography

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