Messier: Did the Canucks miss the Mark?: It has not been a vintage season for the Canucks and their newest captain.: [Final Edition]
Mason, Gary. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 17 Apr 1998: E1 / FRONT.
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Messier doesn't indulge in the easy banter of his teammates. After the game, after he's showered and dressed, he steps before his dressing room stall, stiff-backed, chin up, to offer his pronouncements on the game. Then he's gone. He's read the superstar handbook.
He's often moved through this season alone. On the plane and team bus, he's sat by himself, deep in private thoughts. Most players couldn't summon the nerve to sit and chat with him. Which surprised me. I thought the art of team building, as Messier so expertly knows it, happened differently. But maybe this is Phase One - The Reconstruction. Maybe friendships like the ones Messier formed in New York with Brian Leetch, Mike Richter and others, will develop later here.
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When I asked Messier about this, he said new friendships, new relationships, take time. He said it took three years to turn things around in New York, three years to give the beleaguered fans there something to cheer about again. To make him theirs.
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Messier's contribution this season will mostly be measured by his performance on the ice. While his offensive numbers aren't overwhelming, they aren't horrible either. His play away from the puck has been the biggest concern. But let's be clear here: this was not one of Messier's strong suits in New York either. He still thinks offence first, and maybe that's a hangover from his days with the Oilers. But Messier's defensive lapses have given other teams goals. And cost the Canucks games.
Personally, this has been the most annoying aspect of Messier's conduct this season: Never once did I hear him single out his own poor play after a bad game... What I have heard from Messier has surprised me. A great deal of talk about injuries that have plagued him. There were also the over- blown comments about the arena's bad ice. Regardless, it's often sounded like excuses and I've never known Mark Messier to rely on an excuse in his life.
He recently said one of his arms was 10 per cent but he was soldiering on for the sake of the team. As long as they had a chance for the playoffs. And this is noble and certainly the mark of a great leader. But why, then, is he playing now?
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Messier was always the teacher's pet. In Keenan's eyes, he could do no wrong. While the coach didn't hesitate to rip into anyone else for lackadaisical play, he would never finger his captain. If I was a player on that bench, watching the way Messier played some nights, I'd have problems with that. Because it smacks of preferential treatment. Which is okay if someone is playing like a superstar, but not if his wide circles are costing you goals.
While this might have cost Messier some respect in the dressing room this season, a bigger problem has been the role he's played in personnel decisions.
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), strong leadership from management to put the organization back on the right tracks. Instead what we got was the Messier & Keenan gong show who simply beat the franchise down and rubbed salt in the wounds. 
