Red Wings honor Gordie Howe

ESPN ^ | 1 Apr 2013

[shove_it]

The Detroit Red Wings honored Gordie Howe on his 85th birthday Sunday as players wore jerseys with Howe's retired No. 9 during warm-ups and "Mr. Hockey" was on hand at Joe Louis Arena signing autographs.

[...]

Former Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, who won seven Norris Trophies, was in from Sweden for the occasion. Also on hand were Red Wings Hall of Famers Ted Lindsay and Alex Delvecchio...

[shove_it]

Yup. Whatta guy.

[airborne]

Hockey Ping!

(let me know if you want on or off the ping list)

[Varda]

They must have had ole Gordie in goal.

There’s a local kid who is doing good on the Blackhawks, Brandon Saad. He was probably a star of that game.

[Typelouder]

I had to look it up to be sure, but it was the Cincinnati Stingers. I was a Cleveland Crusaders fan. Gerry Cheevers in goal....Cleveland hosted the WHA All Star game one year. I shook hands with Frank Mahovolich and had my picture taken with Bobby Hull. Had seats with my Dad right in the corner...front row. Gordie Howe was an arms length away on the other side of the glass. Great memories from my youth.....

[nascarnation]

I was a Cleveland Crusaders fan. Gerry Cheevers in goal.

Wow me too. It was pretty easy to get good seats at the Richfield Coliseum. I remember going to one game against the Canadiens, sitting right behind the bench, Scotty Bowman was the coach, watching him chow down on his pocketfull of peanuts in the shell.

[Dr. Sivana]

Then you must remember the Cleveland Barons, who “merged” with the Minnesota North Stars.

[max americana]

Mr. Hockey deserves it. I have his autograph when he visited Vancouver back in the late 90’s. great time to be a kid..

[Darren McCarty]

Gordie deserved a better game. I hate the Blackhawks almost as much as the Avalanche.

Maybe the real McCarty along with Draper and Maltby need to make a comeback.

[nikos1121]

What team had Gordie and his two sons? Oilers?

Did Bobby Hull play with his sons too for a bit. Edmonton?

Watched the Hawks last night. Patrick Cain is incredible.

[Typelouder]

Yes. I was a Barons fan for what, all of two years?! They weren’t as competitive as the Crusaders, though. I think the Crusaders were good enough to have merged with the NHL. The league probably didn’t want any more teams in this area given the close proximity of Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Buffalo.

[Dr. Sivana]

What team had Gordie and his two sons? Oilers?

New England/Hartford Whalers, of course! They played on the same line sometimes.

[Typelouder]

That would have been a Barons game against the Canadiens. I saw Montreal once there also. It was “Guaranteed Win Night” against the defending Stanley Cup Champs. The catch was it was if they won you’d receive a voucher for a ticket to a future game. Well, they beat the Habs 2 to 1. Unbelievable.

Montreal had Dryden in goal, Larry Robinson on defense, Lafleur, Steve Schutt on offense, all stars everywhere. Robinson was taking one handed wrist shots from the blue line during warm-ups!

[Dr. Sivana]

The league probably didn’t want any more teams in this area given the close proximity of Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Buffalo.

Careful. You are accusing the NHL of thinking strategically. A raccoon is better at long-term planning. The real answer is simpler. The Barons were drawing as few as 250 per game.

[Typelouder]

I was referring to the Crusaders merging into the NHL. They drew well as they always seemed competitive.

Didn’t Gordie Howe also play with at least one of his son’s in Houston?

[Typelouder]

The Barons used to be the California Golden Seals and moved to Cleveland because the Crusaders had drawn well. The problem is the Barons stunk and the fans stayed home.