In addition to addressing the Dylan Larkin suspension and the Garland-Zadina incident, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shares news regarding both Gordie Howe and Mark Howe in today’s “32 Thoughts“:
27. In a perfect marriage of history and technology, 10 Gordie Howe NFTs are coming to market. The official announcement is scheduled for Thursday, with proceeds going to the Howe Foundation and the NHL Alumni. Mark Howe joked his son Travis (Gordie’s grandson) has tied him up for months on this project. The family hired a local artist from Detroit to do the work and tell the tales. One is the famous train story that led to Mr. Hockey getting number nine, another called “Hockey Dad” shows Gordie with sons Mark and Marty as members of the WHA’s Houston Aeros. Looking forward to seeing them.
28. For a second time, Mark Howe is retired. The Hall-of-Famer ended his playing career in 1995 and, after last season, retired as a scout. “I remember asking dad when I was still playing, ‘How do you know when it’s time?’” Howe said Monday. “He answered, ‘You’ll know.’ He was right. It hit me then and it hit me again.” Howe said he wants to spend more time with his partner, Sharon, recognizing that is more important to him now than work. “I’ve been compensated very fairly. I strongly believe in Steve Yzerman and his plan. Steve is the hardest-working guy I’ve seen. He demands the same of others and he should. But I wasn’t just tired, I was burned out. It is time.” Howe went out of his way to praise the Red Wings and the Ilitch family. “They were great to me, and us. To share my father with the rest of the world when he passed made a difficult time very nice.”
There’s more:
29. I really enjoyed the conversation with Howe. Two more topics from it. First, his memories. There are so many. “Seven years playing with dad, six on his line,” was first out of his mouth. The 1979 WHA All-Star event was actually a three-game exhibition against Moscow Dynamo in Edmonton. “On a line with dad and Wayne Gretzky, who wouldn’t pay $1M to do that for three days? I wanted to get out of the pictures, because I thought I was ruining them. I’d never have left Philadelphia if we won a Stanley Cup, but I wanted to chase it. We called four teams — the Rangers, New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Detroit. Pittsburgh was my number one choice, but they never called back. Detroit was second, and I’m very lucky on that.”
30. Finally, we talked scouting. Howe had an excellent reputation. Typical of someone with high standards, when I asked about his biggest “hit” as a scout, he said he thinks more about the ones he missed. One example: Brenden Morrow. Howe saw him in Kalamazoo of the old IHL and the nine-game stretch didn’t grab him. Obviously, Morrow became a heck of a player. Howe did say he “always fought hard to maintain a good room. Detroit had one, and it was very important to me.” His personal rules: “I never went to a game without finishing my reports from the previous game. Even if it was a doubleheader, I skipped dinner to finish. Never get behind.” Also: “Always take fresh fruit.” He had his own set of abbreviations and changed them from time-to-time so no one could figure them out. “’S’ was I like his skating, or a good skater. You could also get an ’s-plus’ or an ’s-minus.’” He laughs. “Connor McDavid is an ‘SS.’”
