Editor's note: ESPN's Barry Melrose reacts to Mark Messier's return to the New York Rangers on Thursday:

Rangers general manager Glen Sather is hoping Messier can play at a high level like he did in Vancouver last season, when he scored 17 goals and had 54 points. But more importantly, Sather is hoping Messier can provide the Rangers the leadership they badly need in the locker room.

Anyone who saw the Rangers play last season knows they didn't lose because of a lack of talent. They lost because they didn't compete every night. Several players had subpar years. Obviously, that means something is wrong in the locker room.

With Messier's help, the Rangers are hoping Theo Fleury, Adam Graves, Brian Leetch and Valeri Kamensky can rebound. Petr Nedved's Czech line needs to play as well as it did last year. Along with Messier, the Rangers have added defenseman Vladimir Malakhov, an immense talent who had a great playoffs for the Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils.

Sather knows Messier better than anyone, both as a player and a leader. By signing him to a two-year deal for a lot of money, they are betting that Messier, at 39, still has something left in the tank after 21 NHL seasons. On the ice, he just needs to play 20 quality minutes a game. If Messier can spur the underachieving players and get them to believe in themselves again, the Rangers will be a playoff team next season.