"Two nights later we're in Detroit, and who do I find myself standin' next to when I get on the ice but Gordie Howe. Geez, he was my boyhood hero. I'm lookin' at Gordie Howe. What am I doin' out here?"
"Just before we're ready to face off, Bobby Hull yells at me, 'Watch that old (bleep, bleep, bleep)'! With that Gordie blinks once or twice and gets a little grin on his face, and that's when the puck is dropped. I'm still lookin' at him, thinkin' this is unbelievable, when bam! he gives me an elbow in the mouth."
"I stagger back and say, 'Why, you old (bleep), you'! Then I spear him a good one and we both get penalties."
"In those days, in the penalty box, the players sat close together with a cop or an usher or somebody in between them. So I'm sittin' there holdin' a towel to my split lip and I'm real upset with big Howe. Without thinking, I lean across the guy between us and say to Gordie, 'To think you used to be my bleepin' idol'."
"Howe snarls back, 'What did you say, rookie'?"
"Quickly I say, 'Nothin, Mr. Howe, not a word'."
"To this day, I'll never forget that look."
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Bailey LA KingsVerified account @BaileyLAKings 9m9 minutes ago
Gordie Howe told me in 2007 "remember even mascots need to keep their elbows up" Then I got an elbow to jaw. #9RIP
I'm really crushed by this, its been a brutal year, but Howe above all others was my idol growing up. Unlike a lot of people, I was around to watch Gordie play both with the NHL and the WHA. He was that rare and unobtainable combination of skill, finesse and toughness that GM's have been searching for since he left the game.
I remember reading of him taking on Lou Fontinato who was one of the leagues toughest guys in the 50's when the league was full of tough guys, when Lou brutally cut Howe with his stick, Howe responded by destroying him. But Gordie always knew that in a league like the NHL he had to create his own space.
I remember the thrill of seeing him come back with the Whalers, seeing him play with his sons Mark and Marty, and even coming to their defense.
Off the ice he was incredibly soft spoken and gentle and great with the fans (I met him once when I was 9, I remember going to shake his hand and watching my hand vanishing as his bear paw engulfed it).
I don't care what anyone says, Wayne Gretzky isn't the great player in the history of the game, and I think he would even admit it. Gordie is, not because he was an innovator, or he did something new or different. But because he dominated the game by playing the game the way it was meant to be played.
Somewhere in Heaven I hope there's a daily shinny game with the angels against the old hockey players, because frankly now its going to be heads up hockey in heaven.
RIP Gordie you will be missed
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While Howe's on ice accomplishments are something else, what really got me was how he suffered two strokes in quick succession in his late 80's and only a few short months later got up and walked again and spoke. Twice the media was preparing us for his death and twice he basically spit in death's face and continued living with a decent quality of life according to his family.
If he was that tough in his late 80's, there was no hope for anyone else on the ice when he was in his 20's and 30's.
Location: Wondering when # became hashtag and not a number sign.
Exp:
The single most complete player to ever grace NHL ice. There was nothing he couldn't do in the game and at an exceptional level. Others have been better at individual facets of the sport but no one ever has come close to the whole package.
Will always be my favorite player of all time and IMO the greatest as well.
I didn't see Howe play live, other than the stint with the Whalers in the early eighties. His strength, competitiveness and nastiness are legendary, but I recall one particular highlight clip in his prime which stuck with me. He executed a "savardian" spinorama, likely 20 years before Savard even played in the NHL. Awesome skill, to go along with that toughness.
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From HFBoard oiler fan, in analyzing MacT's management:
O.K. there has been a lot of talk on whether or not MacTavish has actually done a good job for us, most fans on this board are very basic in their analysis and I feel would change their opinion entirely if the team was successful.
