The Captain is back.
As an apprentice.
Mark Messier is rejoining the Rangers’ organization as special assistant to club president Glen Sather, The Post has learned. It will mark Messier’s first job in hockey — and first full-time job, period — since he ended his playing career following the 2003-04 season.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled with the opportunity to move back to New York with my family, to learn from Glen and to work for the Rangers,” Messier said yesterday by phone from the Bahamas. “I’m going to come in and get my feet wet and get an overview of how the business runs and how the team runs and take it from there.”
This move should not be interpreted as Sather hiring his successor. Messier is not the heir apparent. Rather, he is assuming the same type of apprentice position that contemporaries such as Steve Yzerman (Detroit), Cam Neely (Boston) and Al MacInnis (St. Louis) have assumed with their respective franchises.
“While I believe I have a lot to offer, I know I have a lot to learn about the management and business side of the sport,” Messier said. “From the hockey side, I’m going to try and get a feel for the players we have under contract, the depth of our organization, the operation in [AHL] Hartford.
“I’ll be going to Traverse City [Mich.] for the prospects tournament and then I’ll be at camp, ready to do whatever Glen and the organization need from me, whether it’s watching the Rangers or scouting other camps. I’m wide open and willing to do anything and everything.”
The Post has learned that coach Tom Renney approached Messier last season about the possibility of working with the coaching staff this season. It also has been learned that Messier interviewed this summer for the vacant coaching position in Edmonton that ultimately went to Pat Quinn (with Renney as his associate).
Messier is not expected to be on the ice at camp with head coach John Tortorella and assistant Mike Sullivan. Assistant general manager Jim Schoenfeld, who served as Tortorella’s assistant last year, is likely to be on the ice working with the team’s young defensemen, not only during training camp, but also intermittently during the season.
“I think I bring a little different perspective to the organization after and playing in the NHL for 25 years and playing in New York for 10 years,” said Messier, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. “I understand what a player needs to succeed in this environment that’s riddled with pressure to win.
“I think I have a pretty good eye for talent, but really, there are so many things about the management and business side of the game that I’ve never been exposed to. So I’m going to soak it all in and learn as much as I can about what it takes on that end to build a champion.”
Messier, who will move to New York with his wife, Kim, and their two young children, is familiar with the Rangers’ personnel. Well, as familiar as possible after another summer makeover.
“It’s such a moving target trying to analyze in the offseason with so many changes from year to year,” he said. “I do like our young defensemen in Marc Staal and Dan Girardi, and with Henrik [Lundqvist] in goal, I don’t think there’s a better place to start.”
While The Captain, back home again, starts a new career.