“The announcement of Gordie Howe’s death on Friday morning brought the hockey community together in the midst of a heated Stanley Cup Final battle”. So I went in and I asked the guy, ‘You know I’d love to buy that picture, how much is it?’ And he said, ‘That’s my own personal picture and I had it framed for myself.’ But he said he could get me the poster. He hit me and stole the puck back.
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“It wasn’t fun”, Rutherford said Saturday.
While the Pittsburgh Penguins are still celebrating Sunday night’s Stanley Cup victory, the hockey world is still mourning the loss of “Mr. Hockey”. At least in the moment. “Gordie was one of a kind”. Clearly Gretzky was influenced by Mr. Hockey and as it’s been well reported today, had an vast amount of admiration for. He recalls feeling Howe’s patented elbow in the ribs before hearing him deliver an unexpected line.
That was all he wanted to be: a good pro, a good husband who nursed his wife Colleen through the ravages of dementia, a good father to Marty, Mark, Murray and Cathy, a good citizen of the hockey community he loved. He even returned to the National Hockey League at age 52 to put in a season with the NHL-expansion Hartford Whalers. We spent the next 10 minutes or so talking about the game and how the team was doing.
“Gordie was the greatest all-around player of all-time”, Esposito said.
Howe played for a quarter-century in Detroit before retiring in 1971 due to arthritis in his left wrist. Modern media has introduced us to more people than we’ve ever known about and as we’ve gotten to meet them in life, we’ll consume the news about when and how and where they died, too. And he was just such a complete player on the ice. “He had scoring, toughness, skill – he could do it all”. It was a thrill to watch Bourque’s game evolve over the years.
“Of course, your first year in the league is exciting enough, but when you enter that room with such a great player like him it was special”, Rutherford said. But they left an indelible imprint on the Boston fans whose passion it was to find their seat in the Garden or that spot on the couch when NESN was a fledgling pay channel on cable.
Gretzky was taught by Howe to be polite to people and to sign autographs the right way. He was a guy that could win the scoring race and a guy who could win the fight. Alas, it did not happen.
Wayne Gretzky is reacting to the death of his idol, Gordie Howe. “Got a pen?” I had a Sharpie.
Hockey Hall of Fame chairman Lanny McDonald says Gordie Howe represented hockey “with great dignity and always had time for his legions of fans”.
Calls poured into radio shows remembering Howe, mostly for his on-ice exploits. “I saw him play forward and defense, I never saw him play goal, but I’m sure he could have”. “He may have been the most well-rounded athletic player that I’ve ever seen”.
I got my little interview with Mr. Hockey. Like few others, Howe’s impact on the game stretched over decades.
“On a more serious note, Gordie represented the sport of hockey so well”. He shook out the cobwebs and looked up to see Howe standing over him. “He was one of the owners of my junior team and was a big reason I wear the number 9”.
The story goes that in the game which featured the Black Hawks and the Red Wings, Esposito was on the wing going against Detroit’s Howe. The Red Wings defeated the Bruins 4-3.
Mr. Howe, a Hockey Hall of Famer who played 25 seasons for the Detroit Red Wings, died Friday in Sylvania. The attendance was 4,049, the smallest crowd at a Bruins game in 24 years.
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The Detroit Red Wings have pushed organizational meetings back two days.
