A name synonymous with hockey greatness, Gordie Howe, passed away on Friday morning. “Mr. Hockey” was 88-years-old.
JUST IN: Hockey Hall of Famer Gordie Howe has died at age 88, Detroit Red Wings confirm. pic.twitter.com/4oVpHWIapL
— ABC News (@ABC) June 10, 2016
“Mr. Hockey” Gordie Howe won four Stanley Cups, scored 801 career goals and played in an NHL-record 1,767 games. pic.twitter.com/9SlEeFXhJ3
— ESPN (@espn) June 10, 2016
The most successful NHL coach of all-time, Scotty Bowman weighed in on Howe’s passing with a comment on the Red Wings star’s website, GordieHowe.com
“He wanted to eat, sleep, look like and play hockey like Gordie Howe. I pick Gordie as my No. 1 all-time player. He played the longest. He was the toughest player of his era. He was the best offensive player and defensively he was used in all situations. He could play center, right wing, and defense. He could shoot right and he could shoot left.”
“If you could make a mold for a hockey player it would be him. I never thought there was another player close to him.”
Not too much more you can say on top of that. The 4x Stanley Cup champion finished his NHL career with 801 goals and 1049 assists, combining for 1850 total points. Infamous for the famous “Gordie Howe hat-trick,” which constitutes a goal, an assist, and a fight, Mr. Hockey also racked up 1685 career penalty minutes over his National Hockey League tenure.
In all, he was selected to the All-Star game an incredible 23 times and garnered six Hart Trophy nods as the league’s MVP. Gordie notched another 508 points playing in the World Hockey Association throughout the ’70s, too.
Howe’s passing comes roughly two years after suffering a severe stroke in October of 2014 for which his family sought stem cell treatment in Mexico that aided the legend to a pretty remarkable recovery given the circumstances.
RIP, Mr. Hockey. You’ll be enshrined in the game and Hockey Hall of Fame forever.