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Friday, July 14, 2000

Messier makes triumphant return to Rangers

Associated Press

NEW YORK - Three long years had passed since Mark Messier last donned a New York Rangers' sweater. When he pulled one on again, the memories of the good times overwhelmed him.
   "I knew what it meant to be a Ranger before and how tough it was leaving," said a tearful Messier, who signed a two-year deal with the Rangers on Thursday to return and be their captain, as he was from 1991-97. "To be able to come back is exciting for me and my family. I'm proud to be a Ranger."
   In the three years Messier was gone, neither his Vancouver Canucks team nor the Rangers have been to the playoffs. Messier vowed that would change - at least for the team he captained to the 1994 Stanley Cup.
   "I'll guarantee you we'll make the playoffs," said Messier, who helped the Rangers break a 54-year drought with that title, his sixth. "I don't think anybody will be disappointed in the next two years."
   Messier, the fourth-leading scorer in NHL history and first among active players, reportedly will earn $10 million-$11 million and even more if he meets bonus triggers.
   He will have plenty of familiar faces around, none more important than new general manager Glen Sather, who signed him to his first NHL contract with the Edmonton Oilers.
   Sather, who resigned as Oilers' GM to take the same position with New York last month, knew he wanted Messier, with whom he won five Stanley Cups in Edmonton as coach and GM.
   "It's an extremely proud day for me," Sather said. "We've been through a lot together and we'll be through a lot more together. I feel like a second father to Mark."
  

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