Farewell, Mr. Hockey: Gordie Howe leaves behind an unmatched legacy

Ray Slover

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Farewell, Mr. Hockey: Gordie Howe leaves behind an unmatched legacy image

Mr. Hockey. Gordie Howe was the standard by which all NHL players were measured. Correction: Are measured. And while the league prepares to celebrate its next champion, it pauses to reflect a true legend of its sport.

Gordie Howe, a gentleman who was as rough and tough as they came. Gordie Howe, whose success made him a hero and champion. Gordie Howe, whose longevity allowed him to play alongside his sons in professional hockey — and for one last season before exiting at age 52.

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Gordie Howe, whose presence in an arena or especially in the Red Wings locker room was an occasion for adoration.

Gordie Howe, who was freed from his weakened mortal shell on Friday at age 88, was Mr. Hockey.

Here's his impact on his sport. Howe was template for power forwards, a right winger at 6-foot, 205 pounds who played for the Red Wings during their first Stanley Cup dynasty era. His named topped the record books until Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux came along. Only recently did Jaromir Jagr push past Howe for third all time in scoring.

From his entrance in 1946 to his exit in 1980, Howe was both revered and feared, loved and loathed as a player. A Gordie Howe hat trick is a goal, an assist and a fight. He is immortalized in Detroit, and he is an icon everywhere hockey is played in North America.

Four times a Stanley Cup winner; six times the Hart Trophy winner as most valuable player; six time the Art Ross Trophy winner as top scorer. And that just scratches the surface of his remarkable career.

Howe played on the Wings' Production Line with Sid Abel and Terrible Ted Lindsey. That unit held the top three places in NHL scoring the 1949-50 season. In the Original Six era, goals were at a premium, defense was fearsome and Howe was an ace in scoring.

He spent 25 years with the Wings, retiring only because of a bum wrist after the 1970-71 season. But he couldn't stay away. Given a chance to play in the upstart World Hockey Association with sons Mark and Marty, Howe had wrist surgery and returned to hockey. But the Houston Aeros and the WHA wouldn't last.

In 1980, after four WHA teams joined the NHL, Howe and sons played for the Hartford Whalers. At 51, he was back in the NHL. The Wings still owned his rights but let Howe make his final stand. Fans packed arenas to see him. He had 15 goals as the Whalers made the playoffs.

That season's All-Star Game was in Detroit, where Howe had to leave the ice to stop fans from cheering when he played. Among his fellows in that game was Gretzky. The torch was passed.

Howe's final visit to the Wings came in March, on his 88th birthday. Frail after a 2014 stroke that family members thought would take his life, he made his way through the ranks of awed players. The crowd sang "Happy Birthday" during a pause in the game and roared its best wishes for the man who was Detroit's greatest hockey star.

Speaking for those too young to have seen Howe in his prime, 19-year-old Dylan Larkin put the experience into words.

"Obviously I never got to see him play but I've seen pictures and I see all his stats and some clips of him playing," Larkin said. "It's really cool to see what he's done for Detroit and for the Red Wings."

Yes, it was really cool, and not only for the Wings. For hockey.

Raise an elbow. Here's to No. 9. Here's to Gordie Howe. Here's to Mr. Hockey. Rest in peace.

Ray Slover