A fine Mess
by Bruce McCurdy on Mar 22, 2010 4:30 PM MDT
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A week late and at least a couple million dollars short, I thought I should comment on David Staples' fine report on the trade SALE of Mark Messier. Here's a link, although the basics are right in the title: Secret cash payment to Pocklington in Mark Messier deal finally comes to light. In it Pocklington admits "There was a couple of million with it."
Well, isn't that a surprise.
First of all, a short lesson in Pocklingtonese for those new to the form. "There was a couple of million with it."
- " a couple " means somewhere on the number line between (conservatively) ½ and 10.
- " million " could mean cash, promissory note, shares, jewellery, (highly-leveraged) property value, a piece of art (insured value, not real value), a few other things I've forgotten and any combination thereof, and was much more likely to be calculated in "future market value" than "current market value".
- And " it " could mean anything. Anything at all.
The persistent rumour of the day - 1991 October 1 to be specific - was $5 MM US. For sure the only way the deal made any sense whatsoever was for there to be at least 30 pieces of silver changing hands, because as a hockey deal it stank to high heaven. It stank even before the little-remembered future considerations kicked in, in which the Oilers sent another once-and-future Stanley Cup champion Manhatten's way for a pinch of coon shit.
Moreover, this wasn't even the first time the Oilers got the short end of the stick in what was a series of transactions between the two clubs over the next 3 or so years ...
Trivia question #1: Who is the Only player in NHL history to be named to the end-of-season First All-Star Team at two different positions?
Trivia question #2: Who is the Only player in NHL history to captain two different franchises to the Stanley Cup?
When the Rangers won the Stanley Cup for the only time in even my lifetime in 1994, they were stocked with no fewer than 7 players who had won the Cup with Edmonton in 1990. The Rangers acquired all but one, Glenn Anderson, directly from the Oilers. The Oilers fared alright in the last two of those six deals, but up 'til then it was a massacre.
- 1991 September 3: Rangers sign Adam Graves as a restricted free agent. NHL-appointed arbitrator assigns Troy Mallette to the Oilers as "equal" compensation. This wasn't exactly a trade: because the Oilers were too stupid/cheap to offer Graves a fair contract he got offer sheeted. "Gravey" would go on to play 772 regular season games for the Rangers, scoring 280 goals including 52 in the Stanley Cup season, and getting his number 9 retired (alongside Andy Bathgate) in MSG. Mallette would play all of 15 games for the Oil, bulging the twine once. His number 12 remains in circulation.
- 1991 October 1: Oilers trade Mark Messier to Rangers for Bernie Nicholls, Steven Rice, Louie DeBrusk and "a couple of million with it". Unlike Brian Burke and Darcy Regehr, Glen Sather wasn't one to bear a grudge about offer sheets judging by this league-changing deal. Actually it's entirely unfair to tar and feather Sather for this one, which has Pocklington's fingerprints all over the unmarked bills. The diminishing asset Messier would only play 698 regular season games for the Rangers (taking a three-year hiatus in Vancouver), score 691 points, captain the Rangers to two President's Trophies and one Stanley Cup, and of course get his own number 11 retired for a second time. The three guys coming our way would play just a combined 417 games, with the worst player of the three, DeBrusk, playing the lion's share (228) of those. Nicholls would play 95 games in Edmonton, Rice 94. Nicholls was pretty much a spent force by then, though he did have a nice run in the '92 playoffs. Rice on the other hand, was a supposed can't-miss prospect who officially became a Slug while in Edmonton. He was Brad Isbister, Brad Winchester, Josh Green, and J-F Jacques rolled into one.
- 1991 November 12: It gets worse. The future considerations of the Messier deal are announced. Oilers trade Jeff Beukeboom to Rangers for David Shaw. Beukeboom would go on to play 520 games as a Ranger, most of them as Brian Leetch's responsible stay-at-home partner, and would have played many more if not for suffering a career-ending concussion in a senseless assault by Kings' goon Matt Johnson. Shaw would play 12 games of -8 hockey for the Oilers.
- 1992 December 11: Oilers trade Kevin Lowe to Rangers for Roman Oksiuta and NY Rangers' 3rd round choice (Alexander Kerch) in 1993 Entry Draft, December 11, 1992. Lowe would play 217 regular season games as a Ranger, Oksiuta 36 with the Oilers (-15) and Kerch just 5 (in which he posted a memorable 0-0-0, -8). This was the only one of all these deals where any sort of draft pick was involved.
- 1993 March 17: Oilers trade Esa Tikkanen to Rangers for Doug Weight. Finally, a deal that worked out for the Oil, although it also delivered what the Rangers needed in another playoff-savvy vet who would help them win that Cup. Tikkanen would play 144 games as a Ranger, Weight 588 as an Oiler, scoring 577 points. Finally, after Mallette, Rice, DeBrusk, Shaw, Oksiuta, and Kerch, the Oilers got a real player in return.
- 1994 March 21: Oilers trade Craig MacTavish to Rangers for Todd Marchant. MacTavish would play just 12 regular season games as a Ranger, but importantly, 23 more in the playoffs as a defensive/PK/faceoff specialist. Marchant would play 678 games for the Oilers. A clear win for the Oilers, but the fact that Toddy played >50X as many regular season games for his new club as MacT but less than 2X the number of playoff games puts the deal in a little different perspective. Rangers were close enough at that point that they were willing to give up real prospects to win.
Finally, after being raped in four previous deals, the Oilers actually got excellent return in the last two, acquiring their core centres for The Little Team That Could. From a Rangers perspective, NYR got decent value for those trades acquiring useful, experienced parts, while winning outright the first four transactions. It's surely inarguable that without that series of transactions, or indeed the Messier one alone, the Rangers wouldn't have even the one Stanley Cup from these last 70 years. Not that I'm bitter or anything.
Of all the players who changed hands over that unprecedented sequence of transactions, the one with by far the most present market value and future market value was undeniably Mark Messier. Far more than a couple of million worth. He was immediately named captain of the Rangers, brought instant credibility to a struggling team, and proved his playing chops and leadership mettle by winning the Hart Trophy and leading the Broadway Blues to the President's Trophy. Two years later he would lead them to the regular season-playoff "double" including the Grail, scoring the Cup-winning goal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
* * *
While trading activity between the two slowed down to something approaching normal after 1994, the two teams continued to have a strangely incestuous inter-relationship, essentially training each other's management and coaching staffs. Glen Sather himself moved on to the Rangers in 2000, and hired ex-Oiler coach Ron Low as his new head man. In Edmonton, Kevin Lowe had first replaced Low as coach, then replaced Sather as GM, hiring ex-Rangers assistant Craig MacTavish as his own head man. Today, Sather and Lowe remain in key upper management positions, while things have settled down on the coaching front other than the Oilers hire of ex-Ranger coach Tom Renney.
Peter Pocklington, meanwhile, claims to be misunderstood.
Trivia answerS: Mark Messier
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Trivia #3: did you know “Alexander Kerch” is Czech for “Taylor Chorney”?
by Benjamin Massey on Mar 22, 2010 5:45 PM MDT reply actions
Trivia #4: while Bruce’s Trivia #1 is of course correct, Mark Howe was a WHA First-Team All-Star at left wing in 1979 and a three-time NHL First-Team All-Star at defense in the 1980s.
Unrelated to anything, but really, isn’t that just unbefrickinglievable?
by Benjamin Massey on Mar 22, 2010 5:48 PM MDT reply actions
I feel a Dit Clapper reference coming on…
SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there). Link now 100% less broken.
Except that Dit Clapper is a Hockey Hall of Famer and referenced in Slap Shot, and nobody gives a fuck about Mark Howe.
Clark Gillies and Dick Duff are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, while Mark Howe and Andre Lacroix aren’t. I’d just burn the whole damned building down, but that’s an entire post full of profanity.
by Benjamin Massey on Mar 22, 2010 9:06 PM MDT up reply actions
Agreed, that is unbefrickinglievable…but I think Neil Colville of the Rangers was named to the All-Star team as a centre in 38/39 and 39/40 and then as a defenceman (ten years later and after a war) in 47/48 (okay, not First-Team, but still damn impressive).
That’s as far as my knowledge goes – I had no idea Mark Howe even existed.
Terrific call on Neil Colville, T.G. All second team appearances, but still, that’s quite a feat.
I gotta ask, though, how could you know of Neil Colville and not Mark Howe?
Another guy I thought might have made at least the second team at his second position was Red Kelly, a 6-time first teamer in his first career as a defenceman. Kelly did manage to win the Lady Byng at both defence (3) and centre (1).
Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries
"Never be ashamed of who you are" -- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
by Bruce McCurdy on Mar 23, 2010 12:30 AM MDT up reply actions
Ha – I have no excuse for not knowing Mark Howe. I guess I didn’t start paying attention to non-Oilers until about ten years ago.
My old-timey hockey knowledge isn’t as great as it seems. I’m cheating with Neil Colville – he’s actually my wife’s great uncle. Never met him, since he passed away in ’87, but I did meet his brother Mac (also a Ranger, who played wing and then defence with Neil) once or twice.
Well that certainly explains it, and it’s way cool. I’m really interested in multi-position players who are rare birds indeed, at least ones who excel at both positions. The Colvilles were before my time. Red Kelly was already well into his second career as a centre when I started watching the game; while he did play some point on the powerplay that in itself isn’t unusual. I do recall seeing him finish up a game or two on the blue when somebody got hurt or kicked out. Doug Mohns was another terrific all-rounder who shifted from defence to wing. Mark Howe did the reverse and became an All-Star. What Messier did, from one forward position to another, was a lesser accomplishment in some respects, but to twice make the first team at pivot in the time of Wayne and Mario was no mean feat.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries
"Never be ashamed of who you are" -- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
by Bruce McCurdy on Mar 23, 2010 9:21 AM MDT up reply actions
No doubt Bruce – it’s amazing to look back at the all-stars from between 79/80 and 97/98: in every year but 1995 (lockout #1), Lemieux or Gretzky were either first or second team all star centres (and often both). For two players to dominate like that for two decades is incredible, and you’re right, Messier stealing a couple of those first-team selections is no small thing.
I’m curious what the qualifications for wing are though. Depending on team depth, talented centres often line up on the wing for part of the year. Messier obviously was doing it with Gretzky, Malkin and Crosby occasionally do the same. How much do you have to play at one position to be named an all-star? It’s much less of an issue with D, since few players switch during a season.
Do you know if they award a right D and a left D selection or is it just the two best?
How much do you have to play at one position to be named an all-star?
There’s more of an issue of guys switching flanks or being identified on the right, er, correct wing. One year Glenn Anderson came in 3rd in All-Star balloting on one wing and 5th on the other, with a combined number of votes that would have comfortably placed him on the team. (He never did make an end-of-season AST, which was a travesty.) On defence they don’t worry about this for some reason, there are no separate ballots for RD and LD the way there are up front.
Messier was pretty full-time on the wing right up until about February ‘84 when Slats moved him into the middle. He took the occasional draw as I recall, but he generally played on the port side, mostly with Anderson on RW. Matti Hagman was their centre for quite a while, and then earlier in that ’83-84 season they had Ken Linseman in there in what may be the fastest line I’ve ever seen. By then Messier had been the First Team LW for two years with seasons of 50 and 48 goals. So it took some balls on Sather’s part to move him.
But when he did, the team gelled from contender to champion. There was no stopping the Gretzky-Messier 1-2 punch down the middle. Moreover, Linseman moved down the depth chart and centred one of the checking lines, Kevin McClelland the other, and nobody could match up with the Oilers group of centres for speed, skill, or physical prowess. Or in Messier’s case particularly, all three. He had the complete package.
Messier obviously was doing it with Gretzky
Actually not so much. They were usually on different lines even before they played the same position. Both of them liked the puck. (Think: Lemieux and Jagr) Kurri worked better with Gretzky cuz Jari would move the puck, often to Wayne himself, and then get open for the finish. Of course Gretzky would double shift quite a bit so would get the occasional shift between Messier and Anderson, not a bad option for Sather to have up his sleeve. Gretz and Mess would play together some on the powerplay but even there the first team was most often 99 with Kurri and Anderson, Coffey and Huddy.
Importantly, 99 and 11 would get more than the odd own-zone faceoff together. Slats was one of the first to go with two centres in the D-zone, and that’s why. Sometimes it would be on the PK, but mostly at even strength when the third guy would be either Anderson or Kurri depending on whose line was staying out there afterwards. This was more than just a sound defensive strategy. One consistent thing about Glen Sather’s Oilers, they were ultra-aggressive and attacked from any situation. So lots of times the faceoff resulted in a breakout, and of course the second C wouldn’t just hit the bench on the way up the ice in the manner of a John Madden, but on the way back. Or, after the goal. :)
The refinement on this came when Sather would have the winger who was temporarily being replaced by the second centre sit down by the defencemen’s gate. The rush would of course often fail at the other end, and when the play would come back up ice 99 or 11 would turn toward the bench at the forward end, and their replacement would jump out with about a thirty-foot head start. Other teams used to complain about that, but it was well within the rules. Or not, depending on the timing of the change. :)
I never kept actual track and I wish I had of what ridiculously high percentage of goals that team scored on the rush, but I do remember saying, frequently, that I could swear the Oilers scored more goals off of own-zone faceoffs than of attacking zone draws.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries
"Never be ashamed of who you are" -- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
by Bruce McCurdy on Mar 23, 2010 3:57 PM MDT up reply actions
Interesting – I was honestly too young to remember details, but was guessing that you’d play your two best players together if you could. Of course, your description makes perfect sense considering the unbelievable talent depth of those teams.
It’s more than sad to think of a long ago time when the Oilers players and coaches were revolutionary…although, after that much success in such a short time, I’m sure no one else in the league is sorry to see the Oilers stink for 20+ years.
I of course knew about Howe’s (astonishing!) switch of position, but it had escaped my attention/memory that he had been a first-team All Star on the wing in the WHA. I just never considered the Rebel League when I perused the all-time NHL All-Star teams to confirm the amazing Messier factoid. Certainly worth an honourable mention; thanks.
Mark Howe belongs in the Hall of Fame, period. Unfortunately he receives zero credit for his WHA time, which really should put him over the top.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries
"Never be ashamed of who you are" -- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
by Bruce McCurdy on Mar 23, 2010 12:13 AM MDT up reply actions
It wouldn’t hurt his chances if his name was “Mark Jones”, either. He’s in a pretty big shadow.
by Benjamin Massey on Mar 23, 2010 9:31 AM MDT via mobile up reply actions
I would have thought that would add to his fame. With due respect to the Golden Jet and the Golden Brett, if there were to be a father-son game of two-on-two, I’ll take the Howes.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries
"Never be ashamed of who you are" -- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
by Bruce McCurdy on Mar 23, 2010 9:43 AM MDT up reply actions
Bobby and Dennis would kick the hell out of Mark and Marty, though.
I suspect the family connection is a hinderance when you’re as far back of your old man as Mark is. He was one hell of a hockey player but he doesn’t belong on the same level as Mr. Hockey; it’s an inevitable if ill-conceived comparison for the lazy or ignorant.
by Benjamin Massey on Mar 23, 2010 9:50 AM MDT via mobile up reply actions
98% of the players in the Hall don’t belong on the same level as Mr. Hockey. No shame in that.
Anyway, I don’t think we disagree on this one.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries
"Never be ashamed of who you are" -- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
by Bruce McCurdy on Mar 23, 2010 10:52 AM MDT up reply actions
You’re right. Where’s Scott when we need him?
by Benjamin Massey on Mar 23, 2010 11:06 AM MDT up reply actions
Not really. It’s not as if the hall committee is the best collection of stewards for the sport.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
This was a great article!
Kerch and Oksuita are both from the former Soviet Union. One being Latvian and the other Russian respectively. Oksiuta actually had 9 points in 7 games to win gold at the WJHC. While Kerch is still active playing with his son in the Latvian League. I’m amazed the Oilers have not tried to lure both father and son back into the league with no trade clauses and 5 year contracts each. They’d fit right in on the bench beside Khabibulin.
His number 12 remains in circulation.
That’s fantastic. Nice line.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
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