Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe dies at age 88 in Toledo, Ohio

On Twitter, the Great One mourned the loss of “the greatest hockey player ever” and “the nicest man I have ever met”.

Howe won four Stanley Cups with the Wings in a span of six seasons from 1950-55 and was on the famed Production Line, with fellow Hall of Famers Ted Lindsay and Sid Abel.

It’s a belief Hall of Fame hockey writer Jim Matheson shares with MacGregor. It’s why former Red Wing Kris Draper could say about him, sincerely as you please, “I just know anytime I got an opportunity to shake his hand or take one of his flying elbows, it was a huge thrill to be able to do that”. So it is safe to say that he was quite good, considered to be the best all around player of all time. There is no nickname more fitting for him than “Mr. Hockey”.

He moved on to the upstart World Hockey Association, playing for teams in Houston and Hartford. Playing with his sons, though, was what Howe said he was most proud of from his career.

The dichotomy of Howe, the beauty of Howe, was that he was among the meanest, most intimidating hockey players ever, a beast who’d as soon elbow an opponent as score.

Howe now ranks fourth on the NHL’s all-time points list after being surpassed by Mark Messier and, this past season, Jaromir Jagr.

“When Gordie came into the NHL, hockey was a Canadian game”.

“Gordie’s commitment to winning was matched only by his commitment to his teammates, to his friends, to the Red Wings, to the city of Detroit and – above all – to his family”, Bettman said. “I was fortunate to play with Gordie for 12 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and I’ve known him for over 70 years”.

“Gordie’s toughness as a competitor on the ice was equaled only by his humor and humility away from it”.

Gordon Howe was born March 31, 1928, in tiny Floral, Saskatchewan, and raised nearby on the Canadian prairie in Saskatoon.

A statue of late National Hockey League (NHL) player Gordie Howe is seen in Joe Louis Hockey Arena i …

Howe long maintained his record of 20 straight seasons as a top-five scorer in the league was his proudest accomplishment in the sport. Any player who has a goal, an assist and a fight in a game is said to get a “Gordie Howe hat trick”.

Howe played a remarkable 2,421 games, including playoffs, over his professional career.

He held many records, but when Wayne Gretzky came into the league he took some of those records away.

“He has been an icon not only in Detroit but throughout the entire hockey world for as long as I can remember”, said Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman, who played for the Red Wings from 1983-2006.

Howe’s wife of 55 years, Colleen – known as “Mrs. Hockey” – died in 2009 after a lengthy battle with Pick’s Disease, an incurable neurological condition that causes dementia. She managed the business affairs of Howe and sons Mark and Marty.

Howe died in OH at the home of his son Murray, who was at his side with other family members.

At a news conference in Ontario, Trudeau said: “He was a gentleman but he was also very much a tough guy”. He showcased the best of what Canadians like to think of themselves as, highlighted with our national sport and our national identity on an worldwide stage through a national past time.