With the New York Rangers, Mark Messier cemented his reputation as the finest leader in sports. (Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

As with many headlines from the past, it seems absurd or even comical now.

The Oct 5, 1991 New York Times sports headline reads as follows: Rangers Roll the Dice and Trade for Messier.

Whatever the risks envisioned by giving up Bernie Nicholls, Steven Rice and Louie DeBrusk they would soon be forgotten.

Already a member of five Stanley Cup teams with the Edmonton Oilers, Mark Messier would lead the New York Rangers to their first championship in 54 years in 1994, helping to pave the way for his induction in the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday in Toronto.

"Obviously the Stanley Cup in New York was very similar to the first one [in Edmonton] in that it was just so new for everybody," Messier said in a media conference call days before his induction. "Nobody knew in Edmonton what to expect or how to react and I felt the same kind of pandemonium-type feeling in New York ... it was just such a feeling of sheer and utter jubilation and satisfaction for both of those Cups."

Messier's reputation as a leader will be undiminished even alongside the previously enshrined captains in the Hall, men such as Jean Beliveau and Bobby Clarke.

Messier, now 46, was quick to credit his teammates and his father Doug, a former pro player and coach, for contributing to his capacity to lead.

"I've always felt that leaders are made and not born," Messier told CBCSports.ca. "I was very fortunate to have a father that played hockey and understood the game of hockey from every aspect, from the technical side, to the mental side, to the leadership side."

"When you go through your career ... you're really at the mercy of the people around you when you play a team sport. I was very fortunate through my career to have played and been around tremendous people not only from a hockey standpoint, but from a life standpoint."

Stellar springs

Messier ranks second behind longtime Edmonton teammate Wayne Gretzky when it comes to regular season points and assists, and seventh overall in goals. The pair are the only players to win the Hart Trophy as most valuable player for two different teams.

It was Messier's clutch performances in the playoffs, however, that did the most to crystallize his legend.

He scored 109 goals and added 186 assists in 236 playoff games, all totals that place him second all-time. Messier's 14 short-handed playoff goals are an NHL record, and he is the only player to captain two separate teams to the Stanley Cup, leading Edmonton four years prior to his Ranger triumph.

The post-season accomplishments are even more impressive considering in the last seven years of a quarter-century spent in the NHL, Messier's teams with Vancouver and the Rangers never made the playoffs.

Three particular playoff campaigns stand out amongst his many stellar springs.

Messier captured the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 1984 - his first of five championship years with Edmonton. (Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

In 1983, Messier and New York Islander Mike Bossy each netted three hat tricks during the playoffs, breaking a decades-old league record. Edmonton would ultimately be swept in its first Stanley Cup final appearance by the Islanders.

The next year, the Oilers would exact revenge against New York, with Messier scoring two goals in a pivotal third game that turned the final in Edmonton's favour. Messier would earn his only Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, finishing with eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points in 19 games.

Guaranteed victory

The captain's exploits when it mattered most for New York earned him a place in the city's sports pantheon along with the likes of Reggie Jackson, Joe Namath and Willis Reed.

He guaranteed a win before Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final against New Jersey and scored a hat trick in the third period to rally New York to a 4-2 win. The Rangers would win in seven against both the Devils and Vancouver in the final, with Messier scoring the Cup-winning goal.

It's hard to believe now, but Messier went 23 regular season games without a goal in the lead-up to New York's championship.

"My focus wasn't really on myself at that particular time, and although I understood I was a big part of the team in the offence, we were trying to get ourselves prepared the best we could for the playoffs," said Messier.

"We were in a pretty good run for first place overall with some other teams, including the Devils, and were trying to figure out how to balance ourselves for the playoffs - remain as healthy as we could and at the same time continue on winning so we were able to have home ice advantage, which we did."

A compelling case could be made that Messier's total of six Cup wins is the most impressive in NHL history. While several players won more Cups in their career than Messier, all but one of them played most or all of their careers in a league that featured six teams, not 21 to 26.

Of those who played after the league's first big expansion in 1967, only Montreal defender Serge Savard, with seven Cups, ranks ahead of Messier and his Oiler and Ranger teammate Glenn Anderson, who also won six times.

Winning without Wayne

Much has been made of Edmonton winning the Cup two years after Wayne Gretzky was sent to Los Angeles in the historic trade, but Messier said several players performed at the highest level to uphold the winning Oiler tradition and compensate for the loss of their superstar.

Gretzky's absence didn't make the accomplishment sweeter either, Messier said.

"I never felt happy that we were able to win a Stanley Cup without Wayne. I never felt vindicated that we were able to do that from a personal level.

"If anything, it probably felt a little bit sad that he wasn't there to share it with us after what we had gone through to win the first four."

Messier is part of one of the best player foursomes to enter the Hall at the same time, joining Ron Francis, Al MacInnis and Scott Stevens. Jim Gregory will enter in the builder category.

Unlike in other sports, Messier won't have to choose which team he will represent as he enters the Hall. Feared in every other NHL city for his intensity and ability, he is beloved in two.