Oilers honor legendary Messier

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02/28/2007 - Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers retired former center Mark Messier's No. 11 prior to Tuesday's home game against the Phoenix Coyotes.

Messier began his NHL career in 1979 with the Oilers and was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the playoff MVP when Edmonton won its first Stanley Cup in 1984. Messier went on to win four more Cups with the Oilers and is the second all-time leading scorer in NHL history with 1,887 points (694 goals, 1,193 assists), behind only longtime Edmonton teammate and close friend Wayne Gretzky.

Gretzky is now the head coach of the Coyotes and became quite emotional several times during the ceremony.

"I want to thank the Oiler organization for putting this date on the calendar when Phoenix was going to be in town because the night wouldn't have been the same without Wayne being here," Messier said. "Wayne was our leader. He was our inspiration. He was a guy that we leaned on and he never let us down and he never put himself above anybody. I certainly learned a lot from Wayne."

Messier joined Gretzky as one of six Edmonton players (Al Hamilton, Jari Kurri, Grant Fuhr and Paul Coffey) to have their numbers retired.

A native of Edmonton, Messier played 25 seasons in the NHL for Edmonton (1979-91), the New York Rangers (1991-97, 2000-04), and Vancouver Canucks (1997-2000). While with Edmonton, he accumulated 392 goals, 642 assists for 1,034 points in 851 games.

"Nobody could stand here in a team sport, nobody could do it by themselves," Messier said as he fought back tears. "It's good to be back home. Coming back after a long time, one of things I'm most proud of is that the Edmonton Oilers organization remains today so intact as it was when we left," Messier said.

The Oilers are the second team to have retired Messier's number. The Rangers raised his sweater to the rafters last year. Messier led New York to the Stanley Cup title in 1994.

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