R.I.P. Gordie Howe

Gordie Howe, who won four Stanley Cups in the 1950s with the Detroit Red Wings and played professional hockey into his 50s died on June 10th, 2016 at age 88. Howe’s 802 career goals is the second most all time in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky’s 894.

The Saskatchewan born and raised Howe played for Detroit from the 1946-47 season through the 1970-71 season. The Red Wings won Stanley Cups in 1950, 1952, 1954, and 1955. He led the NHL in scoring six times, and remained productive until the end; in that 70-71 season he scored 23 goals and had 29 assists in 63 games when he was 42 years old. Howe was a six time winner of the Hart Trophy, emblematic of the NHL’s Most Valuable Player.

Howe retired for the first time after the 70-71 season, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972. But he came out of retirement two years later to play for the Houston Aeros of the upstart World Hockey Association, alongside his sons Marty and Mark. He played four seasons in Houston before signing with another WHA team, the New England Whalers, in 1977. He played for New England for two more seasons. Following the 1978-9 season, four teams from the WHA (including the Whalers) merged with the NHL. The Whalers were renamed the Hartford Whalers for the 1979-80 season, and Gordie Howe was back in the NHL once again. The 79-80 season was his last; he was 52 years old when he played his final game in April of 1980. He scored 15 goals and had 26 assists for the Hartford Whalers (now the Carolina Hurricanes) in his final year in the NHL. All told, Howe played 32 seasons in the NHL and WHA, pretty amazing considering he didn’t wear a helmet or have nearly the padded equipment we have today.