So Long Great One...and I Don't Mean Wayne

If you’re a long-time hockey fan like I am, the past 18-months have felt like you were given a B.C. two-hander in the chops from Bob Probert.

First, you had the nearly-career-ending injury to Steve Yzerman, the 20-year captain of the Detroit Red Wings. The sight of Yzerman flailing his arms in the air and writhing on the ice like a goldfish out water was hardly the way anyone envisioned – much less wanted too – see The Captain’s career come to an end. Not much later, hockey snobs cringed as a team from south of the Mason Dixon line hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup. Thankfully, the Cup has been returned to Canada sans any NASCAR or Calvin-urinating-on-a-Ford/Chevy-logo stickers.

Then, the coupe de resistance – the strike. If the fans had the same initiative as the children in the film KidCo, well, let’s just say we’d all have a big pile of manure to haul around for quite some time.

We can argue all we want whether the strike was worth it and whether or not the game will be better, but there’s no question the personnel losses stemming from the strike will give the game a whole new look.

A sad side effect of the 15 months off has been the retirement of many of the stars of the 80s and 90s who made the game so exciting.

The list goes on. Damphousse, MacInnis, Stevens, and today…the other great one, Mark Messier.

I can still fervently recall the rivalry that developed between the Wings and Oilers in the mid-to-late 80s. Detroit had finally become respectable again under the guidance of Steve Yzerman and the fabulous Frenchman, Juacques Demers. But just like the seasons changing, every year you could count on the Wings losing to the Oilers during the regular season and the playoffs.

The Oilers were one of the most prolific teams of all time with numerous hall of famers, including the greatest scorer of all time in Wayne Gretzky. Fittingly, he was called The Great One. People loved to watch Gretzky, but the player I always feared and loved was the guy who could do it all. The hockey-player’s player, Mark Messier.

He could block a shot, get up, deck you at center ice, rush to the other end and score. And even more importantly, he could win. For those of us too young to remember the days of Gordie Howe, Messier was the closest thing we could have had. Like Howe, Messier could beat you more ways than any other player on the ice.

The Oilers were the dynasty of the mid-80s in the NHL, taking home 4 Stanley Cups, and they probably would have had five if they hadn’t scored on themselves in a key game vs. the Calgary Flames in 1986. There was #99, Gretzky, the leading scorer riding shotgun. In the back seat you had Grant Fuhr, Kevin Lowe, Glenn Anderson, Jari Kurri and Paul Coffey. But the guy who was really behind the wheel, driving that team and leading them in the locker room was none other than Messier.

On August 8, 1988, a chunk of Canada died when The Great One was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings by owner Peter Pocklington. The move greatly enhanced Wayne’s persona in the U.S., helped bring hockey into the mainstream and popularize the sport on the west coast (for a brief time). While Wayne was going on to become close friends with convicted felons (Bruce McNall) and hanging out with the sunset strip crowd of California, Messier got to work on doing what he did best – winning championships.

In the year 2 A.W. (After Wayne), Messier lead the Gretzky-less and Fuhr-less Oilers to the Stanley Cup, winning the Hart Trophy (MVP) in the process, thus stepping up out of Wayne’s shadow for good and proving to the world what a leader he really is.

Two years later, after his run in Edmonton was at a close, he headed to the Bronx and joined the NY Rangers, declaring to the team and its fans that he’d deliver to them their first Stanley Cup in over 50 years. And he kept his word. Behind Messier and his hat-trick against New Jersey in a must win game 6 of the conference finals, the Rangers went on to win games 7 against the Devils, and then won a heart-pounding game 7 against Vancouver in the finals, giving N.Y.C. the cup, enshrining Messier’s place in New Yorkers’ hearts forever.

For the first time, it was Messier who deservedly lapped up the spotlight in the bright lights and big city of New York while his former partner in L.A. had a nice tan, a great bank account, and zero post-Oiler cups to his name.

For the next 9 years, Messier continued to play on with his rough and tumble style. Knocking you down when he had too, scoring when he needed too. And sure he never won any more Stanley Cups, but he retires today the second leading scorer in league history, behind only Wayne Gretzky.

I find that only fitting. As a person who respected and admired what Wayne was able to do from an offensive standpoint, I never viewed him as the be-all, end-all hockey player. To me, a true hockey star has to be willing to sacrifice himself for his team. He has to be able to have offensive ability, but at the same time, not be afraid to knock a guy on his butt when it has to be done. He has to have a mean streak. In short, he must be multi-dimensional. Gretzky was never these things. Like Howe, Messier was all of that and more.

Wayne got most of the glory, especially after his move to la-la land. And in the end, he’s the one remembered as The Great One. But if the choice were up to me, I’d rather have had the guy who was willing to do it all. Number 11.

Fly-by-night hockey fans always have, and always will say Gretzky is the greatest. After all, we’ve all been told by the media for the last 20 years that Gretzky is the greatest ever and to argue with that is ludicrous. Even ESPN.com put out a survey yesterday asking where Messier ranks on all time players and the highest number you can choose for him is #2, as if picking him #1 would be some form of hockey blasphemy.

I’ll always have a special place in my heart for #11 and in my book, he’s better than Gretzky and right behind Gordie Howe. He was the consummate hockey player for true hockey fans.

And if for some reason you can’t tell the difference between Messier and Gretzky, look for the guy who’s right arm hangs a little lower…because it has two more Stanley Cup rings weighing it down.