Mark Messier demonstrated tremendous leadership for every team* he played for. *Vancouver not included

why would you remind us....his name might as well be voldemort in Vancouver

"Thanks for the Mess".

I lost a lot of respect for Messier when he took the "C" from Linden. A great leader doesn't make it about himself. He could have helped the leadership group without the "C".

Canucks “unofficially” retired Wayne Maki number 11 when he died. That was the reason they just put it back in service because of Messier. I don’t believe it was ever hung in the rafters. Maki family complained but they did it anyway

Messier's play on the ice while in Vancouver wasn't bad, but he was basically an anti-leader in the locker room. While Keenan was ripping guys to shreds, his buddy, Messier would just sit by the wayside and go unscathed. The late 90s Canucks team was basically a civil war between Keenan/Messier and the rest of the team.

Looking back at those Orca jerseys just reminds of the Bertuzzi, Naslund, Morrison and Ohlund Era.

As a Ranger fan, I remember the shock of Mess leaving. NYR and Van both suffered from the move.

"Ah shit. Here we go again...," - CJ

I remember attending the Heritage Classic, them playing an ad with Messier during intermission and the crowd loudly booing that they stop playing it after like the second time lol

I talked with few Canucks fan while I was living in Vancouver, and everyone of them hated Messier with a passion. I wasn't aware of all that history and how Messier divided the team. A very interesting story indeed.

I was 12 and soooo excited at the time. I lived in POCO and remember that newspaper cover. I also vividly remember being incredibly confused as to why we weren't winning every game lol!

As a Ranger fan, it's even more amazing the Rangers gave him about the same contract (3 years , 20 million) after his debacle in Vancouver. Messier missed the playoffs his last 7 seasons.

I had just moved to Vancouver at that time. Rumour had it, Trevor stood up between periods of a game and began a 'we can do this" speech. Messier abruptly told Linden to sit his ass down. The beginning of the end of Linden in Vancouver, and the Messier fiasco.

I stopped being a season ticket holder after Canuck's 2nd year with Mark Messier. I was infuriated with his lack of care when the team missed the playoffs. The worse times for a Canuck fan.

THG, can you please do a video on the career of Vancouver Canucks legend Mats Sundin?

I've always wondered what the whole deal was about. Excited for this one.

He who shall not be named

No. I've blacked this part of the Canucks history out of my memory...Sorry, I'm still in denial.

Moose was always one of my favourite players since his early Oiler days, I felt bad for him in Vancity, but out of that mess the Canucks ended up with the West Coast Express, Jovocop and the Sedin twins.

I remember turning on the TV and hearing the news about Messier signing and was absolute fuming. Never forgave him for 1994, the fact that he then drove both Trevor Linden and Pat Quinn out of town and brought in Mike Keenan made it so much worse. My earliest memories as a Canucks fan are as a kid from the mid-late 80s but they Messier era was easily my least favourite period. Went to a couple of games and it seemed pretty clear he didn’t give a crap.

The Orca was way better than the yellow V. Holy moly is that awful.

Oh that Mark Messier as a Canuck look back. I remember it well. @ the time the Canucks signed Messier, I remember thinking.... what is all this about. Mark and Mike Keenan, destroyed the Canucks team. Bure wanted out, and Linden was traded. What a disaster. Then years later, Mark take the Canucks to court. Why? After he left, he was told that the Canucks were of more value. And under Marks old Canuck contract, he deserves more money. Wins the court case, and Mark who isn't a Canuck at the time.... gets millions from the Canucks. So, Marks 3 years.as a Canuck the Canucks didn't make the playoff. What a great leader, I say with sarcasm.

#11 is for Wayne Maki. He died of brain cancer, and there was an understanding by ownership #11 would be out of circulation. It was never formally retired. Then ownership changed.

I was tempted to give this a thumbs down because it was about Messier as a Canuck, but I’m not that mean. LOL. Mean Mark was the guy who hit Trevor when he was down at the end of game 6, and then he chased him out of town when he got here. And you’re right - I HATE the orca as a fan since 1998 because it reminds me of Messier. I hated the guy when he came here. But of course, my uncle bought me a Messier jersey, which got lost in a move. I obviously found it easy to make peace with that “loss.” The orca should have died when Messier left. Whenever I see that jersey I think of Mean Mark.

I wonder how many times an NHL team has signed a well past his prime, super star player to super star money and ended up being disappointed by the on ice result? It indicates that even management can’t see the obvious. That being that age and wear and tear take their toll on ALL players.

I remember after he did those commercials for Lay's chips and some Canuck fan had a sign at a home game that said, "Hey Mark, I bet you can't score just one."

PTSD! PTSD! Alert! Alert! Why did you go there? Aaaaaaaagh.

They forgot to get Lowe, Kurri, Anderson, Tikkanen, Beukaboom and Graves as well

Very interesting to know the whole story. Thanks!

And there is the video we were going to get! Love the stuff, Shannon!

I love these hockey stories, news. Make more like these. Like the run Toronto maples leafs had in 93.

Shannon is looking good on that magazine cover

I love this format. I was watching hockey during this era but obviously didn't hear anything about this growing up, but I do remember when Mark left NYR after Wayne showed up and they had that run to the Eastern Conference Finals (I was looking for goalies to emulate and Mike Richter impressed me - how could he keep his eyes on that Fox puck with the tail?) A great, well-rounded take, a good tie-in to contemporary trends, and a reflection on the matter after the fact. I'm sure you have a lot of primary material from throughout the years that discuss hot topics, I'm excited to see the playlist develop

Messier single handily torpedoed the Franchise by getting Keenan hired and forcing Linden to hand over the C

It’s funny tho Gretzky actually said of Mess: “He’ll never be traded (from the Oilers)” and we’ll look at him now.

Obviously New York Ranger fans consider Mark Messier a god. But what is not reported enough is the fact, Messier manipulated the Front Office to trade away young players, future 1st rounders for aging/oft injured vets which delayed Rangers rebuild by a good 10 years. After Gorton was fired, he tried to mettle again, volunteering his help to consult. Mess is a great player but I don’t miss this guy.

That old paper is a great find.. Love that 2 page spread of a young baby faced Thornton and Canuck Messier

I moved to Vancouver in 1999 for a couple of years and there was a stench in the air left over from Messier and Pat Quinn. Fans seemed real happy to move on at that point. I was glad I got to miss that and see Naslund/Morrison/Bertuzzi and the early Sedin twins instead.

Would love to see a Nazzy career video

i cant believe you went 10 and a half minutes before mentioning mike keenan. with messier in vancouver ive always imagined it as him and keenan joined at the hip

@6:24 you just described the Canucks right now. Yippie can’t wait

This is the most incredible break down of what I lived through , absolutely incredible job

I keep forgetting Messier was a Canuck its just weird

By the way I recent found your KZfaq channel, around the time of the Kraken draft...awesome videos. Keep up the great work.

Shannon thank you for enlightening us fans in general. I know there were hatred towards Messier and Canucks, but didn't realize it was so deep rooted and maybe to this day, die hard Canucks fans don't want to uncrate this subject. Kings Fans used to loathe with passion Rob Blake when he was traded and ended up winning with the Avs and signed with SJS made it worse, but I guess winning cures all the pain and all the hatred were buried with it. Kings Fans were more understanding with Luc, but with Blake back then we would boo and jeer everytime he touches the puck.

great subject matter, well done as usual

Your original Messier video was one of the first I watched, this brings me back!

This was a good video. This would be a good series 'Revisiting the Time....." You should do one on Gretzky going to LA.

Best game the Canucks played during that time was when they came to MSG with Mark and he scored and got the first star.

This is the period where I gave up on hockey. Luckily the west coast express brought me back.

Best Vancouver jersey is the original rink with the hockey stick. As for Messier after hearing the Burke story about Gretzky and the Canucks sure over the years he was the consultation prize. Never knew it at the time but 100% now.

Hands down the best hockey channel out there.

In 2000 when Messier went back to the Rangers it was the same year His old buddy Glen Sather became the GM.

@The Hockey Guy I Remember When This Happened From a Young Flyers Fan at The Time and Bad Choice by Vancouver Without Question Since Mark Did Beat Them in the 1994 Cup Finals!

Would love to see the Bure video. One of my favourite players not from the Oilers. He was so fun to watch. Those 94 playoffs with Bob Cole calling the games. Bure flying around hitting Rangers in the first few mins and Bob Cole and the Vancouver crowd going nuts. Oh or the game 7 overtime against the flames. When they were down 3-1 in the series, I got cocky with my Flames fan friend and doubled down on our bet they would still win the series. That’s a goal I will never forget.

I always wondered what Canucks fans thought of Messier. Thank you

The moose is loose in British Columbia and it's a mess.

Next time you do a video on a teams cap can you go into how the performance bonuses work? Is there a limit on the dollar amount and how come it doesn't impact the cap?

Only one thing to say about him being a Canuck. That was messy, eh?

The absolute worst era in Canucks history.

After Messier left New York, he never played in another playoff game.

Leadership? Leadership starts by being an EXAMPLE for people to look up to. How do you become an example to anyone? Respect. Respect the voices, the personalities, the opinions around you. "I don't agree with that, but at least I respect what you're trying to say.", and I show you that I'm not lying through my teeth, by follow-up example. Messier showed ZERO respect, from day 1, to the organization and its history ("Maki's #11 IS MINE!, and I don't care why it's retired".), his coach ("I WANT MY COACH in here!", and out goes Renney and in comes Keenan.), or his teammates ("I WANT THE 'C'! I should have that!", and not only does it alienate half the team from him and his "leadership", it opens the door for several players to follow Linden, ARGUABLY the greatest LEADER the team ever had - with respect to Stan Smyl and The Sedins - out the door.). Messier was no "leader"; he was a spoiled, selfish, arrogant, a-hole. He always was! He played that way, from his days with The Oilers, through to his Edmonton Rangers days, and into Vancouver. Over-hyped OWNERSHIP DRIVEN move (I don't believe for a minute this was Quinn's deal), that backfired WONDERFULLY for that ownership group; HA-HA! Unfortunately, the fans watching paid the emotional price of seeing their team evaporate under this egomaniac.

I agree with THG, the Messier period with Keenan was the darkest days of this team's history and that's saying something given the woes of their early years coming in as an expansion team and the mid-late 80's. Messier and Keenan seemed to do all they could to tear down a very good, albeit underacheiving and aging core.

I don't think that I can watch this one without a bottle of Jack to get me through it.

I wonder if you could somehow contact some of these NHL players and ask to do interviews with them about these topics. I'd love to hear what the players have to say about these things. It be really cool.

Im not a nucks fan.._but Pavel Bure and Messier are some of fav players. Messier Captain of Oilers, was my first jersey, I begged for Gretz got Mess, so I became his fan. Fun video!

11 wasn’t officially retired, it was like bourdon’s 28

Let's not revisit this......puleeeeez!!!!

No thank you! no need to revisit this. Thanks

I saw guy wearing a Messier jersey at a game I went to back in March I was surprised he didn't get heat for that.

Ironically I just watched his other video about Messier with the Canucks a couple of days ago.

Looking back at that 96-97 season, I am shocked at how poorly the Canucks performed despite all the talent they had on that roster.

That whole thing was bizarre. It was hard to respect him after this. He squandered a lot of goodwill.

I love the thumbnail for this video

I have a 2005-06 Daniel Sedin Orca jersey, the dark one which was the away jersey at the time. The orca is my favourite Canuck logo, that's not saying much, I love the team but they've never had the best logos. Remember the 1995-96 red top/black bottom with the off-set yellow "V" skate jerseys? Those were hideous.

Mess will always be a hero to me. He brought a Cup to NYC after 54 yrs of agony.

Great video, man! Still can't eat Lays potato chips because Messier is linked to them.

I met Mark Messier great player but an ignorant attitude. For guy that makes a lot of money he sure ain’t happy. I guess this means having lots of money isn’t everything and being a jerk taints your reputation. Marty Mcsorley was a lot more kinder and actually listen to people conversations. Goons may be tough and intimidating on ice. but they sure are nice people off the ice, and more down to earth for less money.

Ah yes Mark Messier...a guy whose elbow never met an opponents head it didn't like

It was an interesting time for me with hockey in the 1990's. My whole family is heavily into hockey. We have Sabres fans, Rangers fans, Oilers fans, And Canuck fans. Many of us have came to cheer for all 4 teams over the years, myself included. I became a Canucks fan over a bet though. If Rangers won the cup in 94 I had to become a Canuks fan, if Canucks won my cousin became a Rangers fan. We all know how 94 went. So when Messier left the rangers to go to the Cauncks I wasn't as disappointed as most Rangers fans were....at first. As good as we was, Messier was a bad fit in Vancouver but as Shannon said not everything durn that dark time was his fault.

As I understood it, there was a player rejection of Keenan. Messier was a big Keenan guy and there was friction with Mess and the rest of the team because of it.

I’m wondering Shanon do you still have the magazine with the cover of Mark Messier has a Canuck on it that you showed in your remembering the 1999 Dallas Stars video?

Not a Vancouver fan… but since the 70s, prefer the old school green & blue ‘hockey stick’ jersey, classic imo! Keep up the good work, excited for the regular season to start, and… Go Rangers! ;)

Really interesting history!

it is a great logo + also Canucks longest and most performance-successful logo but at the time was definitely very Corpo

The mid-90's decline for the Canucks, for me, started with the Mogilny trade. They gave up a lot of youth/depth/grit for Alex and he didn't mesh at all with Bure (the two rarely were good at the same time during their partnership in Vancouver). The coach/goalie carousel along with the Messier acquisition were merely rearranging chairs on the Titanic. Burke deserves a lot of credit for correcting the course... which started with Mogilny being shipped out for Morrison and Pederson and the dismissal of Keenan.

Mmm. ... sounds a bit like this year ... "bring in OEL and if he and a few others (Pettersson, Huggy, etc) can have a bounce-back year ... we'll be back in the playoffs"!

As an Isles fan I absolutely loved this signing.

As much as I disagreed with the decision at the time, Wayne Maki's #11 was never officially retired, nor was it ever "in the rafters". It had simply been "honoured" by the Canucks and never subsequently dawned by any other Canucks' player until Messier. I shared season tickets at the Colosseum, and the only sweater number "in the rafters" was Steamer's #12.

No doubt about it. I’m ready to get hurt again.

Gee thanks Shannon ..I almost forgot :P

If anyone wants more info on what was going on during those years I recommend an old HFBoards thread titled “Why Mark Messier is Often Regarded the Worst/Most Hated Vancouver Canuck of All Time” - tried leaving a link but I think links get filtered out lol

fwiw I think the Caps were heavily in on Messier too

too soon, Shannon.

1995: Get out of 1st Rd 1996: Got out of 1st Rd 1987: No playoffs 🤣

Great video.

Have you done a video on Mogilny's career? That would be an interesting one.

I did notice that Canucks went with the Orca the same year that Hartford moved to Carolina.

Oh God, please no. Make the nightmares stop 🤚😭