Mark Messier went into the Hockey Hall of Fame Monday night pretty much the way you might expect. He cried.
He struggled through a heartfelt speech, pausing often to try to control his emotions, but he couldn't beat back the tears. It goes that way for Messier; he cares deeply about the game, his role in it and his many contributions to it. He also cares deeply about the many people who helped forge the man he is today and in thanking them you could see the memories come flooding back. As Hall of Fame inductions go it was one of the more memorable moments and it was delivered by one of the most memorable performers to ever play the game.
That was Mark Messier on display for all to see: Caring, passionate, emotional and deserving. A first-ballot Hall of Famer, a six-time Stanley Cup Champion, the second leading scorer in NHL history and the only man ever to captain two teams - the 1990 Edmonton Oilers and the 1994 New York Rangers - to a Stanley Cup.
As hockey moments go it was just about perfect except for one thing: In his introduction Messier was called "the greatest leader of all time."
Not one of many, not even one of a handful, simply the greatest.
Now I have no problem if you choose to believe that. I saw most of the great moments in Mark Messier's career and I would argue his leadership ability in both Edmonton and New York and even to a less successful conclusion in Vancouver was perhaps his greatest quality. That's saying a lot when you could also argue that his scoring and playmaking ability were second only to his friend and teammate through much of his career, Wayne Gretzky. You can't speak Messier's name without also saying he was one of the strongest, toughest (early in his career you could also add meanest) and physically dominating hockey players in NHL history. I'd also go so far to say that Messier is perhaps the closest thing I've ever seen to hockey's "complete package", a blend of size, strength, talent, leadership and dedication so near perfect in its performance that you can legitimately argue (and many in and outside of hockey have) that Messier would be the first player a general manger would take in building a hockey team for the ages.
But I keep getting stuck on that introduction and my response is twofold: who says so?; and isn't that a terrible injustice to many hockey players who are already or someday will join him in the Hall?
Don't misunderstand; this is no knock on Messier's leadership ability. What he did throughout his career makes a strong argument that he should be considered for that title, but how does one quantify leadership?
I was there when Messier led those teams to championships in Edmonton and New York and I would argue that the 1990 championship with the Gretzky-less Oilers was one of the defining moments not just in his career, but in the game. To win a championship, on the road and against a formidable Boston Bruins team, was a splendid accomplishment and something many thought couldn't be done in the wake of The Great One's departure from Edmonton.
I also was in Madison Square Garden the night he capped an impressive Rangers run (a run that included the "guaranteed win" against the New Jersey Devils in the Conference final) to a Cup, something many thought would never happen again in the long-suffering history of the New York franchise. Both were iconic moments and, I believe, neither would have happened were it not for Messier's play and, perhaps more importantly, his contributions as captain and as a leader of men.
But I also saw Scott Stevens, who was also a first-ballot inductee Monday evening, lead the New Jersey Devils to three Stanley Cups and watched him do it with the same kind of single-minded focus and determination that Messier showed. I saw a team that revolved completely around Stevens and a statement of purpose that he personified. I would especially make note of the memorable 1995 championship, the one in which Stevens, burning with a passion to win after losing to Messier's Rangers the previous season, drove his team to a totally unexpected finals sweep over the supremely talented Detroit Red Wings.
Can you really say that Stevens, in any of New Jersey's Cup wins, was less demanding, less enthralling, less dedicated or any less a leader than Messier?
What about another inductee Monday, Ron Francis? Was he not the key acquisition that transformed a talented but leaderless group of Penguins into a two-time Cup winner in Pittsburgh?
And if we're to make Messier the ultimate leader, where does that lead Phil Esposito and his stirring speech and on-ice performance against the Soviets in the iconic Summit Series in 1972?
Is Bobby Orr, the man who almost single-handedly carried a failed Boston franchise to dominance in the early 1970s, destined forever to take a back seat to Messier? Is that the fate of Bobby Clarke with Philadelphia, Jean Beliveau, Maurice "Rocket" Richard or Doug Harvey in Montreal or even Bobby Baun with the Toronto Maple Leafs? Is Messier a greater leader than Chris Chelios, or Gordie Howe or Steve Yzerman? Is Patrick Roy leading the Canadiens to a surprising Stanley Cup triumph in his rookie season and another in 1993 (including a record 10-overtime wins) before leading the Colorado Avalanche to a pair of Cup wins in Denver, less a leader? If the NHL allowed goalies to be captains (an honour Roy richly deserved), wouldn't his winning four Cups with two different teams be every bit as noteworthy as Messier's two? When it comes to leadership can you not say that Roy, Billy Smith, Terry Sawchuk, Jacques Plante and a legion of others weren't every bit as great as Messier?
And if Messier is "the greatest," where does that leave Wayne Gretzky?
Hockey is awash with great leaders. It is a sport with a leadership list as great as its history is long.
Messier knows that. He studied under and played with great players and great leaders seemingly every year of his legendary career and I suspect if you asked him point blank, he would deflect the claim of "greatest of all time" simply because he knows and respects the game and the many great players and leaders who played in it.
We live in a different time now and one of the things we face daily is a seemingly never-ending quest to define this player, person or thing as the best, the best in history and "the greatest". It's a media thing as well as a fan thing and worse, it's now a marketing thing.
The NHL, in what smacks of a desperate attempt to capitalize on the drawing power of one of its more recent stars, seems quite willing to toss aside the accomplishments of so many who make up its storied past. The league now markets Messier as the greatest, complete with a monthly leadership award and a marketing sponsor to help make it all happen.
Monday night, even the Hockey Hall of Fame went along with the hype.
Nice for Messier, but a disservice to so many others enshrined within its walls.
