We all know the larger-than-life Messier, the steely-eyed gladiator surrounded by an aura of near-magical charisma and menace, the Bad Cop to Gretzky’s Good Cop in Edmonton, the captain who promised -- and delivered -- a game 6 victory over the New Jersey Devils in the ’94 Eastern Conference finals, the centre of the “My Canada includes Messier” controversy before the ’98 Olympics. He has the third-highest points total in NHL history and the highest points and goals totals among current players. But Jeff Z. Klein takes us beyond the headlines and the statistics. We meet a Messier who is not only a leader and a warrior, but a contemplative student of philosophy, a generous contributor to children’s hospitals, and a man who has a complex emotional life.