Bless this Mess?

Okay so my title isn’t original. Who cares though right? Focus on the story. You know the heart of the article? My mother said more than a few times “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. How does this relate to hockey is what you’re thinking right? Well the recent signing of Mark Messier by the free-spending New York Rangers has been widely described as a PR move. They’re trying to bring back history which is almost like trying to hug a fog. You swipe at it and swipe at it and even though you almost get it, you never truly do. What are you going to do with all those points he accumulated in the 80’s and early 90’s right? I think I am one of the few that think this is actually a smart move by the Rangers other than Rangers fans.

By bringing back Messier, the Rangers brought back the heart of their Stanley Cup Championship in 1993-94. Messier will bring a sense of authority, leadership and confidence to a team that was severely lacking in all of those categories and more. Messier can help bring along their youngsters like Manny Malhotra, Jamie Lundmark, and Pavel Brendl. Those three have been considered the future of the Rangers. They need someone to learn from and to follow and it’s doubtful that Theoren
Fleury and Valeri Kamensky will take the time out of their schedules of dealing with their own poor play in order to help these guys mature. Messier will take time out and I’m looking forward to a break-through season by Malhotra, and two strong rookie performances by Lundmark and Brendl.

I’ve covered the part of the off-ice qualities he will bring BUT I haven’t said anything about how well I think he will perform on the ice. Let’s not try and kid ourselves Ranger fans, sadly Messier is a shell of his former self. You’ll occasionally see one of those trademark wristers shot on his off-wing, twitching the twine but he’s no longer the physical force he was and he can no longer zip through the
neutral zone with ease. He’s 39 years old and the Rangers didn’t get him for what he would bring to the ice no matter what they say. They also didn’t get him for the press it would bring to the organization. They got enough of that last year and you can probably remember that it wasn’t pretty.

Messier was brought back for the intangibles he would give to the organization. Nothing more and nothing less. Some will say it’s foolish to spend that kind of money on just leadership ability and the occasional memory. You have your own opinion I’m sure. Just don’t judge this book by it’s cover eh?