He was an enabled area. Lauded by the NHL for a whole-slew of wrong reasons. Classic ‘old school’ mixed messaging, naming the NHL’s Mark Messier “Leadership Award” after a guy who probably had the “least amount” of respect for his fellow “union bros” on the ice. Those union bros sign contracts where they promise if to abide by codes of conduct & respect the rules of the game to ensure everyone’s safety & not mar the league’s reputation. But the league, put on blinders as far as Messier was concerned - because they used him to promote ‘violence’ tho’ claiming to be policing it.
Check out this: classic Messier out-take.
No penalty on the play. Look at his face, he knew he could do ‘anything’ out there, because he was a league protected aborition.
He just doesn’t get it.
Messier has a God complex because the league enabled his forays over the line- so often, that his very ginormous head couldn’t process right from wrong any more.
You don’t try to maim your co-workers, who are husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, just trying to do their freakin’ jobs under a set code of rules. If we ever cross that line at our job-sites, we are reprimanded, suspended and/or fired. Messier is like the boss’ son who bullies & assaults others, for no good or apparent reasons, other than he can do almost anything with impunity… and there-by cheat.
It’s sickening that the NHL’s propaganda machine & owner/paid media types have been trying to sell this villain, as a hero for decades. He’s a massive cheater who was rarely - if ever - told to ‘stop’. That’s the clear & obvious fact.
To this day no teams really want “Messier” to manage and/or mentor their rookies on NHL teams, as he was an ugly product & symptom of by-gone era, created by the abhorrent greed of the most powerful of league owners.
He is still plays this role in retirement. You are a dupe - believing all of the fake news that props this guy up to subsequent generations. Let him fade away, he’s NOT worthy.