New York ? Mark Messier was 30 and already a five-time Stanley Cup champion when it was time to leave the hometown Edmonton Oilers.

That was the summer of 1991, three years after Wayne Gretzky’s stunning trade to Los Angeles and a year removed from the Oilers’ fifth title in seven years. The dynasty was over, and Messier was the latest big star about to be shipped out.

Glen Sather, the man who built the team and ran it from the bench during the glory years, asked Messier where he wanted to go. The answer was the New York Rangers, a team that hadn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1940.

On Monday, the 44-year-old stone-jawed captain said goodbye, announcing his retirement after a 25-year career and six championships – including the one in 1994 that ended the Rangers’ drought. He is second only to Gretzky on the NHL’s career scoring list.

It took only three seasons for Messier to deliver with the Rangers.

“I knew all the past history of the teams in New York … but I don’t think anything can really prepare you for going to play in New York until you get there,” Messier said.

With the Rangers trailing New Jersey 3-2 in the 1994 Eastern Conference finals, Messier promised New York would force a seventh game. He made good on his word by posting his fourth and final playoff hat trick in a 4-2 victory.

New York won Game 7 in double overtime to advance to the finals, which ended with a seventh-game victory over Vancouver.

Messier has an 18-year-old son playing hockey in Texas and a 2-year-old child and a 3-week-old baby at home.

“There was nothing left for me to really achieve,” he said. “It was time for me to move aside and go into something else.”