Happy Birthday Mark Messier

@graphite I happened to watch the series when Mess's team won the cup without Gretz. Mess took that whole team on his back and led them to win the cup. The oilers were not that good a team but Mess wouldn't let them lose.

@hippyjoe1955 Didn't Gretzky tell the Kings to get some more players because he couldn't do everything by himself? His later teams simply weren't as good as what he left in Edmonton. And how many Edmonton players joined Messier in New York in 1994? Not to mention already having players like Briant Leetch and Mike Richter.

It's academic: Gretzky - 2,857 career points, Messier - 1,887 career points.

@graphite No doubt the Kings were not a winning team and the silly idea that Gretz could fix that was just foolishness. But then the owner of the Kings wasn't about winning the cup. He was about making money via having celebrity on his team. The most famous hockey player in the world was sure to be a celebrity and the people of LA would flock to see him play and he would make nothing but money. Sadly the philosophy of the LA owner is now the reality of pro sports. It really isn't about winning other than winning makes celebrity. The company that owns the Edmonton Oilers is the Oilers Entertainment Group. Nothing to do with sports as I grew up knowing sports. The old "my town against your town' 'my school against your school' is completely gone. Thus I no longer follow sports. I haven't watched a game for years. I couldn't tell you who won the Stanley Cup or the World Series or the Super Bowl or the Grey Cup.