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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.
|  | | Mark Messier gets emotional at his news conference on Thursday. |
"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 to $11 million, according to ESPN The Magazine's E.J. Hradek.
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."
Messier, the league MVP in 1990 and 1992, became an unrestricted
free agent when the Canucks exercised a $2 million buyout for the
final two years of his five-year contract instead of being on the
hook for $6 million a season.
The announcement came just one day after Ron Low was hired as
the Rangers' coach.
The 39-year-old center broke down several times at the podium
Thursday after he watched a highlight video and accepted the
captaincy from Brian Leetch, who reluctantly acquired it when
Messier signed with Vancouver after the 1997 season.
"I feel a little bit strange wearing the sweater right now with
the captain's 'C' on it," Messier said after raising his arms in
triumph. "I think people know what I feel about Brian. For him to
turn the captaincy over and for me to accept it from Brian is truly
an honor."
Leetch, not often known to quip, got the biggest laugh when
asked why he agreed to give it up.
"I was concerned that Mark might become a problem in the locker
room if we didn't make that move," Leetch said about a player
considered one of the best leaders in sports. "It didn't seem
right for him to be in a Rangers jersey without the 'C' on it.
"It would be selfish on my part if I kept it."
Messier's departure from New York came amid a rift with then-GM
Neil Smith and Madison Square Garden president Dave Checketts. With
Smith's firing late last season and Sather's arrival, Checketts
knew it was right to bring Messier back.
To prove the point, a glass case filled with dirt was brought
out with shovels so Checketts and Messier could bury a hatchet
before embracing. Checketts decided during the Wayne Gretzky
retirement game, at the end of the 1999 season, that he wanted
Messier back.
"We all make mistakes," Checketts said. "But the past is the
past and today is a day of moving on. Mark Messier has become
synonymous with New York like few other modern-day athletes in any
other city."
The return certainly will ease the burden on Leetch, Adam Graves
and Mike Richter -- the remaining holdovers from 1994.
"I'm glad these three years are over and he's back," Leetch
said.
Messier, who had 17 goals and 37 assists in 66 games last
season, won four Cups in Edmonton with Sather as coach and the
fifth there with Low's New York predecessor, John Muckler. Messier
first came to New York just one game into the 1991-92 season when
Sather, shackled by the Oilers' financial troubles, traded him.
In 21 NHL seasons, Messier -- who missed 15 games last season
with a knee injury -- has 627 goals and 1,087 assists. He had 183
goals and 335 assists in 421 games with the Rangers.
"I'm not coming here resting on my laurels," Messier said. "I
didn't come here resting on the five Cups I won in Edmonton. I'd
like to recreate some magic, but it's more than that. It's a lot of
blood, sweat and tears."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Free agents: Who has signed where
List of NHL free agents
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Returning to the Big Apple is a great opportunity for Mark Messier.
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Messier still has the ability and drive to win.
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An emotional Messier accepts the captaincy from Brian Leetch.
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Brian Leetch looks forward to Mark Messier's leadership.
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ESPN's Al Morganti sees Messier bringing his leadership and motivation to a lackluster Ranger team.
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Rangers GM Glen Sather is thankful to have Messier back in NY.
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Sather is certain that Messier will contribute both on and off the ice.
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