Oct. 4: Messier traded to Rangers by Oilers

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Oct. 4
1991:The future of two teams is altered dramatically when the Edmonton Oilers trade their captain,
Mark Messier
, to the New York Rangers.

After playing on all five of the Oilers'
Stanley Cup-winning teams
from
1984-90
(two more than the Rangers' total from 1926-91), Messier holds out and is traded to New York for forwards
Bernie Nicholls
,
Steven Rice
and
Louie DeBrusk
.
Messier's effect on the Rangers is immediate: They win the
Presidents' Trophy
as the NHL's best regular-season team in 1991-92 and again in 1993-94, then end a 54-year championship drought by
winning the Stanley Cup in 1994
, with Messier scoring the Cup-winning goal in
Game 7 of the Final
.
The Oilers don't return to the Cup Final again until 2006, then fail to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs again until 2017.

MORE MOMENTS
1926: The Detroit Cougars, one of three new teams set to begin play the following month, purchase the Victoria Cougars from the defunct Western Hockey League for $100,000. Players from Victoria make up nearly half of the first-year Detroit team.
1958:
Maurice Richard
scores two goals, and brother
Henri Richard
gets the game-winner and has two assists to help the Stanley Cup-champion Montreal Canadiens to a 6-3 win in the NHL All Star Game at the Forum.
1991: The
San Jose Sharks make their NHL debut in a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks
at Pacific Coliseum. Forward
Craig Coxe
, a native of Chula Vista, California, scores the first goal in Sharks history. The Sharks go 17-58 with five ties in their inaugural season.
On the same night,
Jari Kurri
scores three goals in his first game with the Los Angeles Kings, who
defeat the Winnipeg Jets 6-3
at Winnipeg Arena. The hat trick is the 21st of Kurri's NHL career.
1999: The
Sharks have the first "double hat trick" in their history
.
Owen Nolan
and
Jeff Friesen
each scores three goals in a
7-1 win against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks
. Nolan also has three assists for a six-point night.
2001:
Brendan Shanahan
scores three goals in the Detroit Red Wings'
4-3 overtime win at San Jose
to become the
second player in NHL history to have an opening-night hat trick twice in his career
.
On the same night, the Boston Bruins retire
Ray Bourque's
No. 77 before their season opener, then
defeat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 4-2
.

2008:The NHL plays its first regular-season games in
Stockholm, Sweden
, and
Prague, Czech Republic
.
Tyler Kennedy
's overtime goal gives the Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-3 win against the Ottawa Senators in Stockholm, and Brandon Dubinsky's goal stands as the game-winner in the Rangers' 2-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Prague.
2017:In his first game with the Toronto Maple Leafs after 19 seasons with the San Jose Sharks,
Patrick Marleau
scores two goals in a
7-2 victory against the Winnipeg Jets
at Bell MTS Place. Marleau's first NHL goal for a team other than the Sharks comes at 8:32 of the second period and is set up by
Auston Matthews
, who finishes with a goal and two assists to become the fourth player in NHL history to start each of his first two seasons with at least three points in his team's opening game.
2019:Cam Atkinson ties an NHL record by scoring in his sixth straight season-opening game, equaling the mark held by
Mud Bruneteau
of the Red Wings (1940-41 through 1945-46) and
Yvan Cournoyer
of the Canadiens (1973-74 through 1978-79). However, Atkinson's second-period goal is the only offense for the Blue Jackets, who start their season with a
4-1 loss to the Maple Leafs
at Nationwide Arena.