Mark Messier Quotes (75 Quotes)


    I really had the time to take my time and see how I felt, ... Not come to a decision before I was ready to make it. It's right for me and my family. I feel good about it. I was able to play 26 years or whatever it is now and walk away healthy. It's a tough situation because we all know how much fun it is to play.

    I think the idea of the obstruction through the neutral zone and away from the puck was an excellent rule.

    I haven't celebrated coming in No. 2 too many times.

    That would have been the one, ... That's something that's always going to be a disappointment for me. But I think there are so many good things that happened in the playoffs previous to that, that it will diminish those feelings.

    I think every team that I was with that we won, we won under a different set of circumstances, different types of teams. To compare is really tough.


    I think that team ... we were all one. I don't think any one guy deserves more credit than the next. You could probably take any one of those people all the way through from the ownership to Neil Smith, to Mike Keenan to our whole team there and you could take one person out of there and things might have been different. I say that in all honesty. We caught Lightning in a bottle.

    The only pressure I'm under is the pressure I've put on myself.

    It was a tough decision because I'm healthy and I feel good. I've achieved a lot and there was really nothing left for me to achieve.

    his emotion and his compassion for the game. Inside of all those things, there was his ability to excel and his expectations to win. But it was always on a team level, it was never the expectation to go out and score three goals when the score was 7-1. Mark was the kind of guy who always seemed to excel when it was a 2-1 game or a 3-2 game.

    Besides, ... anyone who plays at 50-odd years old deserves that record.

    It was a tough decision. I'm healthy and feel good and I feel like I can play.

    I think the thing you always got to keep in mind, you know, hockey is a game of one-on-one battles.

    I wouldn't come back to play for that reason, ... I know that was talked about, but there has to be other reasons. I thought I achieved a lot in my 25 years and it was time to go.

    I went to New York with one thing in mind and that was to try and help win a Stanley Cup. I was lucky to be a part of a team that was willing to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of the team.

    He earned the respect and admiration of all the people here in New York.

    One of the best experiences I've had in hockey.

    I've never really thought about any individual records, ... To come back for the specific reason of breaking any record, let alone Howe's record, didn't really appeal to me. Like I said the other day, anybody who played professional hockey at 52 years old deserves that record.

    I've never really spent a lot of time thinking about my individual accomplishments actually.

    My jersey hanging from the ceiling is going to be a symbol of the hard work of the people I played with.

    It's great to see them playing like this. The Garden is an amazing place to play, especially when you're winning. There's no other place like it.

    If I had to compare any of the two, I'd compare the first one in Edmonton, the first one here in New York because it had been so long in New York since we had won. Obviously, being the first time to ever win the cup in Edmonton, they were fairly similar in that regard.

    I came here wanting to win the Stanley Cup and what I got was a life experience. I learned more about life coming here and seeing there were more important things than just playing hockey. That was sharing in the compassion and the overall care and sincerity of the people of New York. That changed not only my life, but the life of my whole family.

    I never was brought into the league thinking as far as, you know, statistics, things like that. We were really brought into the league in a team concept. Everything was focused around winning.

    Obviously, like I said before, with new training techniques, all the latest knowledge, players have a bigger advantage than they used to.

    I really think it's excellent in order to create the speed through the neutral zone and let players skate and join the rush without being impeded.

    We had built up a team in Edmonton that really knew who each other was from a personal standpoint and from a professional standpoint. Our nucleus had stayed together for a long time.

    If you ask anybody around here for those years, nobody would have a bad word to say about Brian Leetch.

    He was what the Rangers should be all about. I guess for him, it'll be a tough night emotionally. My advice to him, having been there before, is just relax and enjoy it. He deserves it.

    Really the team often will take on the personality of its coach.

    Every day, even today, you hear about it from fans, ... I knew the magnitude of it the first year I was in New York. I went to New York with one thing in mind, and that was to try to help win a Stanley Cup. I knew all the past history of the teams in New

    You always really have to remain consistent in your beliefs and philosophy.

    When Wayne was traded, I became captain. For me it really wasn't anything - I didn't do anything or I didn't feel I had to do anything different than what I had been doing all along.

    The damage from Hurricane Katrina is so great and so many people's lives have been thrown into turmoil, we know our customers will appreciate the opportunity to send help. Food Lion is proud to partner with our customers and the American Red Cross to help those in need.

    Like I said, a 30-year-old hockey player, even when I came to New York when I was 30, I was on the downside of my career, pretty much the end of my career.

    But I just think as a captain, everybody's different.

    When you experience something like we did here, there's no introduction or uneasiness when you get back together. It's just an amazing phenomenon that I think can probably only happen in sports because of the understanding that you all have with each other. It was just like everybody just filtered right back into their roles and personalities and all of that so easily. Because of it, it was just a real comfortable, easygoing time. ... It was just awesome. Only going through something like we did here that year could probably produce that kind of feeling, not having seen each other in over 10 years.

    I look up at the banner and I don't see a No. 11 with my name on it. I see all the things and all the people, my family, my parents, so many people who put me in this position to have my number retired. To me it's almost like a highlight reel when I look

    I just think overall a lot of it has to do with conditioning and players putting in the time and the effort in the off-season to keep themselves in condition for 12 months a year.

    I had conversations with Kevin and he's a good friend, but I thought it best to just stay in New York and announce my retirement here,

    I've had a long career, I achieved a lot, there was nothing left for me to achieve, and it's time to move aside and go on to something else.

    Well, my transition into being a captain was easy.

    25 years later, you know, I haven't really put too much emphasis on any kind of individual goal, other than trying to win any particular night, trying to find a way to do that.

    When you play long enough, everybody goes through spells and streaks and slumps of some nature. I think it's just one of the those things where you have to play yourself out of it.

    I don't know that I ever really considered it. I was definitely open to listening to his offers but I knew in my heart that if I was going to play it was going to be in New York.

    I'm sure it's an exciting time but an emotional time to come back. The major part of his career was spent here and he earned the admiration and respect he got here for what he did on and off the ice.

    It's been an unbelievable experience playing in New York and to do the things, after the success we had in Edmonton to come here and have success in New York, it was a dream come true. I came here wanting to win the Stanley Cup, and what I got was a life

    I would never say one was more important or more gratifying than the next because there's a tremendous amount of work, as you know, that goes into winning a cup.


    I've had a long career and I've achieved a lot and there was nothing left for me to really achieve. It was time for me to move aside and go into something else.

    It's a tough game, and you never want to take that aspect out of the game.


    More Mark Messier Quotations (Based on Topics)


    Time - Hockey - People - Work & Career - Mind - Success - Decision Making - Family - Past - Life - Philosophy - Wisdom & Knowledge - Disappointment - Night - Emotions - Respect - War & Peace - Duty - Sign & Symbol - View All Mark Messier Quotations

    Related Authors


    Maria Sharapova - Babe Ruth - Wilt Chamberlain - Vijay Singh - Sugar Ray Leonard - Sergei Bubka - Ruud Gullit - Ivan Lendl - Ichiro Suzuki - Carl Lewis


Page 1 of 2 1 2

Authors (by First Name)

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M
N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Other Inspiring Sections