Sure, age has taken away Messier’s dominance. At 42, he can no longer carry a team with his offensive abilities like he did 10 years ago with the New York Rangers. His skills have eroded over time, and he is now relegated to a mere role player on a club filled with superstars.
The sight of Messier streaking down the left side of the rink and snapping a low shot past an opposing goaltender is now gone.
Despite all of this, there’s no reason to believe that the Rangers captain isn’t going to take his place next to good friend and former teammate Wayne Gretzky in the NHL’s record book.
With 1,844 career points, Messier is just six shy of the legendary Gordie Howe for second on the all-time scoring list.
Like Howe, Messier can thank his longevity and good health for allowing him to put up such offensive numbers.
When Messier plays his first game of the season for the Rangers, he’ll be competing in his 25th NHL campaign. He will become just the second player in league history, joining Howe, to play 25 or more seasons.
Carolina captain Ron Francis needs just 13 more points to tie Marcel Dionne (1,771) for fourth place on the all-time points list.
Pittsburgh captain Mario Lemieux needs eight points to become just the seventh player in NHL history with 1,700 points. He is also 18 goals short of the 700-goal plateau.
With 716 goals, Brett Hull will no doubt pass Phil Esposito (717) for fourth on the all-time goals list and is within reach of third-place Marcel Dionne (731).
New Jersey captain Scott Stevens will start the 2003-04 season with 1,597 career games under his belt and will likely finish the year as the league’s all-time leader in games played among defencemen. Larry Murphy leads with 1,615.
Among the most interesting see-saw record battles that will occur this year is the one between Tampa Bay’s Dave Andreychuk and Hull for the power-play goals crown. Andreychuk is first with 260, followed by Hull with 255.
