Mark Messier was impressed by the Edmonton Oilers’ comeback after a terrible beginning.
Six Stanley Cup rings are owned by Mark Messier.
He’s also been a part of teams where it seems like there will never be a win.
One month into the NHL season, the Edmonton Oilers were exactly where they were.
After 12 games, the team’s record was 2-9-1, placing them 31st overall and eight points behind the second wild-card slot in the Western Conference.
After three months, Edmonton has entirely changed the course of events.
The Vegas Golden Knights ended the Oilers’ 16-game winning streak on Tuesday, one win shy of the league record. But, the club is no longer incapable of playing defense, earning a save, or stringing passes together.
Rather, they have firmly returned to the discourse of contenders.
“That bus is being driven by Connor McDavid,” Messier remarked of the outstanding captain of Edmonton. “Under this emphasis and under this glare, he has not faltered. His leadership has been put to the test in a variety of ways, and he may even feel more confident now.
“After this, he’s going to be a better, more complete player.”
Since 2021, Messier, who owns five Cups with the Oilers and one with the New York Rangers, has participated in panel discussions on ESPN’s NHL broadcasts.
After moving up the standings, the Oilers, who sacked head coach Jay Woodcroft in November and installed Kris Knoblauch in his place, are once again in a postseason position.
The past three months for McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the other players, according to Messier, should instill faith in the process.
It’s now a matter of repeatedly doing it through June.
“You have to have an unwavering belief in yourself,” said Messier, an NHL center inducted into the Hall of Fame who is usually considered the game’s finest captain throughout his 25-year career. It is imperative that you possess a steadfast faith in both the coach and the team’s culture that you are developing. After that, you need to have complete faith in the players in your immediate vicinity.
“Your chances will probably be reduced by anything less than that.”
According to Messier, Edmonton’s season has already been quite the roller coaster. The team made it to the 2022 Western Conference final but lost in the second round last spring.
The 15-time all-star admitted that there are “ebbs and flows and ups and downs, both emotionally and physically.” “During the playoffs, you are going to take a punch to the face. Adversity is a difficult moment to be tested if you have never faced it.
“They’ve undoubtedly reinserted themselves into the discourse.”
In addition to his duties on television, Messier will return to his well-known position as a potato chip spokesperson for Sunday’s Super Bowl coverage.
The 63-year-old appeared in the humorous “Betcha Can’t Eat Just One” Lay commercials, which debuted on TV in the late 1990s. In the advertisements, Messier was shown signing on with the “Pylons,” a beer league club, and skipping a flight in order to sign autographs after becoming addicted to chips.
The theme of Lay’s new slogan, “Betcha Can’t Pick Just One,” is the variety of flavors offered by the brand.
Regarding his first Lay’s venture, Messier remarked, “The commercials turned out to be these really interesting writings (with) some of the funny Canadian hockey terminology.” “Happy to take part in it once more.”
Regarding the head coach in place since January 2023, he stated, “(Tocchet has) held the players accountable.” “He’s shown a lot of people incorrect. He performed a fantastic job.
At last week’s NHL all-star celebration, commissioner Gary Bettman included Cincinnati on a lengthy list of prospective expansion cities.
Messier completed a five-game amateur tryout for the Indianapolis Racers before spending a portion of one season with the World Hockey Association’s Stingers in southwest Ohio in 1978–79.
