Mark Messier Recalls Similarities Between ‘90s & Recent Rangers Teams

A big reason for the derailment in 1992-93 was Brian Leetch missing significant time with multiple injuries, only appearing in 36 games that season. That no question hurt the team, who was “the best defenseman in the league at the time,” in Messier’s eyes. But that was only one issue. Another was the reported bumpy relationship between former head coach Roger Neilson (who was eventually fired) and Messier.

“We weren’t aligned as an organization [with] the vision of how to win, and that needed to change,” Messier emphasized.

A Pep Talk for the 2025-26 Rangers

Heading into 2025-26, the situation is similar. A talented roster from Adam Fox to Artemi Panarin that underachieved in a different way. In fact, the story wasn’t an injury to a star player in 2024-25; the biggest issue was trade rumors and off-ice distractions that took a toll mentally on the group, which never quite went away.

What would Messier say to the team now as it looks for a clean slate before starting a new season? The players can only control what they do on the ice.

“We’re not in charge of player decisions. We’re not in charge of the roster. There are a lot of things challenging for players in that regard, but the one thing you can control is how you come to the rink every day and how you prepare every day as a player,” he said.

Messier Recalls J.T. Miller Draft Interview

Going into 2025-26, a few things will look different. For one, J.T. Miller, will be wearing a “C” on his jersey – an honor that Messier knows all too much about, emphasizing it’s one of the most “important decisions any organization can make.”

Messier, who served as the special assistant to the general manager of the Rangers from 2009 to 2013, got to know Miller in the interview process before the draft.

“My first impression was very simple. That’s a hockey player,” Messier said of the eventual 2011 15th overall selection.

“He spoke like a hockey player. He loved the game of hockey [and] wanted to play the game of hockey. Now, this is years later. He’s been in the league. He’s 30-something years old now, a lot of water under the bridge, a lot of experiences.”

“It’s an amazing honor for J.T., and I wish him well,” he continued.

An Iconic Jersey

Then there’s the new centennial jerseys to commemorate the Rangers’ 100 years in existence. This comes timely for Messier, with the GAME 7 patch partnership. His first reaction to the centennial jersey was “wow.”

“It’s a spiritual, iconic jersey for me personally, and then everybody else [who have] been fans and followed the team for years,” the Hockey Hall of Famer said.

“I think they really got it right with the jersey. It looks very vintage, it looks historical, looks powerful and we couldn’t be more proud to be on the shoulder for the New York Rangers.”

Rangers Could Be a Playoff Team, But No Guarantees

The last thing is some of the core changes that have taken place over the past year. Chris Kreider is gone, as is former captain Jacob Trouba, along with K’Andre Miller. In comes J.T. Miller for a full season, Vladislav Gavrikov (projected to play with Fox), and some potentially intriguing prospects that might make the roster, including Scott Morrow and Gabe Perreault.

Messier did not drop any guarantees, as he did famously in 1994 after losing Game 5 to the New Jersey Devils to instill confidence for Game 6 – but he does think the Rangers could find themselves back in the playoffs. The Edmonton native believes we’ll have a better view of where the group is around the midway point of the season.

“They made a conscious decision to make big changes, and it’s going to take some time to bring that leadership core group back that every championship team is built around, and that’s what the Rangers are up to right now,” Messier noted.

Should history repeat itself with the early 1990s, the Rangers would be hoisting Lord Stanley in 2026 – a year after a catastrophic season. But again, that’s far from a guarantee. The only guarantee is that there are five documentary episodes launched by Messier’s company on Amazon Prime, reliving some of the most thrilling Game 7s across professional sports, including the 1994 Stanley Cup Final that ended the 54-year curse.

But for now, Rangers fans can only hope that history repeats itself and the pain of a missed playoffs results in a championship. The team has enough talent – now it’s all about putting everything together.