NEW YORK — One man in the last 65 years has had the guts, guile and grit to lead the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup. Yesterday, he gave up the quest to do it again.

Center Mark Messier, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest leaders in hockey history and the only Rangers captain to hoist a Stanley Cup since 1940, officially announced his long-expected retirement from a 25-season career on the day the rudderless team he left behind reported for training camp.

"It's been a long career and I've achieved a lot and there's nothing left for me to achieve, I guess," the 44-year-old Messier said.

Messier's feats include winning six Stanley Cups, earning most-valuable-player awards in 1990 and 1992 and being second on the all-time scoring list (with 1,887 points) behind Wayne Gretzky.

Messier downplayed the lure of being 12 games from surpassing the league games-played record of 1,767 set by Gordie Howe.

"It was just time to move on," Messier said.

There was nary a voice crack from the usually emotional Messier during a conference call from his Hilton Head, S.C., home on which he informed the media of his decision. But the tears are likely to flow in about four months, when Messier's No. 11 is retired to the Madison Square Garden rafters before the Rangers' Jan. 12 game against the Edmonton Oilers.

It was with the Oilers, in his native city, that Messier evolved from a rambunctious young scrapper to a skilled superstar and five-time champion. But it wasn't until his arrival in New York in 1991 that Messier was able to fully emerge from the shadow of Gretzky and earn acclaim as one of the sport's greatest winners.

"He was an exceptional leader who was unselfish, hard-working and dedicated," Gretzky said yesterday. "He truly loved the game. He was the best player I ever played with and it was a pleasure to play with him each and every day."

Few seemed to enjoy the routine of a hockey player's life more than Messier.

Adam Graves, Messier's longtime left winger, said, "I think, if you could build a prototypical hockey player — if you could put all the most important aspects of the game together into one player — you'd most likely come close to Mark Messier."

Notes

• Right wing Trent Klatt, 34, of the Los Angeles Kings announced his retirement after 13 seasons. Klatt played for four franchises, including the Vancouver Canucks.

• Ted Saskin has asked the executive board of the NHL Players' Association to vote again on his five-year deal as the new executive director — this time by secret ballot.

Despite overwhelming support from player reps during a conference call with the executive board yesterday, Saskin decided to reopen the vote. He wants to end criticism from a group of players, including Klatt, who questioned the process by which Saskin was hired.