He will be playing…and may cry too. (NYZone)
8. Mark Messier
If this were of the greatest players in New York Rangers history, you can rest assured The Captain would be much higher on the list, if not in the number one spot itself. Alas, this is the list of the greatest goal-scorers in Rangers history, so he’ll have to sit a little farther down the list.
Messier came to the Rangers in a trade from the Edmonton Oilers during the 1990-91 season, being shipped to New York for Bernie Nicholls, Steven Rice and Louie DeBrusk. Over the next six seasons, Messier would play like a superstar for the Rangers, winning the Hart Trophy in his first season while leading the Rangers to the best record in the NHL.
Over his 698 games with the Rangers – split into two tenures – Messier would net 250 goals, some of them not only the biggest in Rangers history, but the biggest in NHL history as well.
Though his production dipped a bit from his days in Edmonton – and that should be expected when you no longer play with the likes of Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, and Paul Coffey – he still scored consistently for the Blueshirts, never scoring fewer than 25 goals in any full season he played (the 1994-95 season was lockout-shortened).
Messier is obviously most known for leading the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup in 54 years, making a few outrageous guarantees along the way, but scored like few others in Rangers history.
Next: #7 Brian Leetch