Messier says Rangers are for real, playoffs their biggest challenge in Q&A with NHL.com

Since 2021, Hockey Hall of Fame icon Mark Messier has served as lead studio analyst for ESPN's NHL coverage, his sharp insight and unique view of the game on and off the ice taking viewers not only into the action, but often into the mindset of players. 

Messier is a legend by any definition of the word, for his statistics and leadership. Twenty years this month since his last game, he ranks third all-time in regular-season points scored (1,887), third in games played (1,756) and ninth in goals scored (694).

The 63-year-old recently spoke at length with NHL.com in a wide-ranging interview that covered his Hockey Hall of Fame career, work as an analyst, today's NHL and of course, the 1994 Stanley Cup championship of the New York Rangers, their most recent title won 30 years ago this spring.

Today, fully focused on the Rangers now and then, here is the last of a three-part conversation ahead of New York playing the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday (3 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN+, SN1, TVAS). Part 1 was published Wednesday, Part 2  appeared Thursday.

New York Rangers captain Mark Messier skates with the puck during a game against the New York Islanders at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Rangers, first in the Metropolitan Division, have been one of the NHL's compelling stories this season. Are they the real deal?

"I think they are. They're more mature. They're getting older, they're getting more experienced. (Goalie) Jonathan Quick has been a great addition to the Rangers this year. He brings a healthy amount of experience and a winning attitude. Igor Shesterkin is arguably one of the best goalies in the League, so when you start there, they seem to be pretty solid in net. 

"They've got a (2021) Norris Trophy-winning defenseman in Adam Fox. K'Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba (out 2-3 weeks with a lower-body injury) are a great shutdown pair, Ryan Lindgren is a scrappy defender who plays really well with Fox. Braden Schneider is a guy who's going to play in the League for 20 years as a solid defenseman. And I think Erik Gustafsson has been a huge addition because he's a great skater and puck-mover. 

"Their defense should be able to handle the pressure that they're going to face in two months of (Stanley Cup Playoff) hockey. Up front, they've got some good balance. 

"For me, it's one thing to look at the top six forwards on a championship team but I don't think the bottom six ever gets enough credit for what they bring and add to a championship team. I saw it first-hand with the teams in Edmonton and I certainly saw it in New York with the contributions we got from those guys. They always seem to be expendable until they're gone, and then you're wanting every one of them back.

"It all really boils down to the depth of the team. Going into the playoffs, I always looked at how we were going to destroy four teams' will to win. … Do we have a team that can destroy the will of four teams over two months? That's the question that I ask when I look at a team and how it's constructed."

Rangers forward Artemi Panarin already has a career year for goals (36), eight points from equaling his career-best 96. What's the strongest part of his game?

"He makes players around him better. He's hard to defend because he's an underrated skater. He's obviously got an incredible skill set. He's a very smart hockey player. He knows where open ice is. He knows how to draw people to him. And he's a good scorer on top of it.

"A lot of players are good playmakers and draw people to them, but Panarin can score. In fact, I think he could be more a little more selfish at times and concentrate more on scoring himself. But he's a world-class talent.

"Like everybody else, it's one thing to do it during the regular season. You've got to prove that you can do it in the playoffs. You make your money during the regular season, but you make your name in the playoffs, so let's see if he and the Rangers can make names for themselves when it matters most."

New York Rangers captain Mark Messier in mid-1990s action.

Without asking you for a guarantee, as in so many words you did for a win before Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Final against New Jersey, what's your strongest feeling about the Rangers?

"Nobody expected them to beat Pittsburgh in the first round of the 2022 playoffs. Sidney Crosby got hurt and the Rangers made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final. 

"I just put so much emphasis on the experience that you get in those moments. It changes you as a player because of what it forces you to do and how you prepare and the confidence that gives you, that you can push harder than you ever thought was possible, so I put a lot of stock and playing hard hockey in the spring. 

"The Rangers have been in the fire a few times now. They're getting older, they're getting more mature. They're getting stronger. They're developing more chemistry because of the years they've spent together. That's always an important part.

"They're going to be in the conversation with maybe four other teams in the East and four teams in the West. They've got the goaltender to do it. They've got perceivably enough talent to do it. Whether they can do it when it matters most is yet to be seen."

New York Rangers captain Mark Messier takes the Stanley Cup for a skate at Madison Square Garden on June 14, 1994.

We're coming up on the 30th anniversary of the Rangers' 1994 championship. Does it seem to you like it's been three decades?

"It doesn't. It's unimaginable that it will be 30 years this spring. First of all, I don't know where the time has gone. I feel like it was yesterday in some regards, but time doesn't stand still, as we know."

Are you still reminded of 1994 while you're in New York, at the Garden, in the streets?

"There's not a day that I've been in New York on the subway, in a taxi going to the game, in restaurants, at charity events, that I'm not reminded of and thanked for that championship. 

"It was an incredible experience for a wide array of people. Some who weren't even hockey fans got caught up in it. It transcended the game of hockey in so many ways. It's inspired boys and girls.

"I've seen kids who were 12 and 13 years old, 10 and 8, who have grown up and are now working in a city who tell me where they were and how they watched it. It never gets old."

From left: New York Rangers teammates Brian Leetch, Mike Richter, Mark Messier and Adam Graves before the 1994 NHL All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden.

The 1994 Rangers were facing elimination against the Devils going into Game 6 of the conference final and you virtually guaranteed a win. Some say that your leadership in saying that, then scoring three goals with an assist to force what would be a victorious Game 7 back at the Garden, was a defining moment in your career. Do you view it as such?

"It was an important game for us, obviously, because we were facing elimination. I went into every game thinking it was a must-win situation. When you're facing elimination, it's different but the mentality is that every game is a must-win.

"Sometimes you win and, unfortunately, sometimes you lose. But the mentality going into that game was no different than any other game I played in the playoffs. I didn't think we ever had games to give away. 

"Momentum is a funny thing in the playoffs. It can change on a dime, on one play. I was just so happy that we staved off elimination and were able to play Game 7 back at home where we were so successful all year. 

"I look at it more from the perspective that without (goalie Mike) Richter, we never would have never got to the point of the third period. We were completely outplayed in the first half of that game. We got the goaltending that we needed to give ourselves a chance. 

"We got a late goal in the second period by (Alexei) Kovalev and all of a sudden the tide changed a little bit because the Devils tried to protect the lead. That gave us an opportunity to get off the mat and get our game going again. Sure enough, we were able to do it in the third period. 

"But I don't look at that game, or any championship, as individual accomplishment. I look at the totality of it."

From left, ESPN's Steve Levy, Mark Messier and P.K. Subban during the 2024 NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 17, 2024.

The memories after 30 years must be a melting pot. Is there one that will always bubble to the top?

"It's always the sacrifice that you give, playing for each other. The respect that you have for the guy next to you, to see him going above and beyond anything that he thought was imaginable to win. That kind of incredible respect that you have for that.

"And of course, the fans here, the generation of fans that shared it. We had an incredible team that shared it in many ways. The three years that I had leading up to it… the '94 team was incredibly generous with their time off the ice. We invited the fans into our journey, we shared it together.

"When we ultimately did win, one of the reasons why it was so powerful is because we had such an incredible amount of character on that team that really brought the fans into it."

Top photo: ESPN analyst Mark Messier makes a point during the 2022 Stanley Cup Final.