Howe you celebrate a very big birthday
Red Wings great marks 87 years by going fishing, watching game on TV
DETROIT The Detroit Red Wings offered a unique 87th birthday present to Gordie Howe Tuesday.
The first 7,500 fans at the Joe Louis Arena Tuesday were presented with Howe bobbleheads, in tribute to the legendary career of Mr. Hockey.
Howe played 25 years with the Red Wings and another six years in the World Hockey Association with Houston and New England, before finishing out his astounding NHL career with the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80. Howe’s NHL career included 801 goals and 1049 assists in 1,767 games, a record that may never be broken. He scored another 174 goals and 334 assists in 419 WHA games.
Howe, who cheated death late in 2014 following a controversial stem cell treatment in Mexico, had plans to go fishing with his children Tuesday in Lubbock, Texas — home of his daughter, Cathy Purnell — before tuning in to the Red Wings-Ottawa Senators game.
While Howe is battling dementia, including short-term memory loss, his children are taking advantage of every minute.
“We’re treating every day we get with him as a bonus, just because his condition around Dec. 1 was so dire that we didn’t imagine he would be around,” Mark Howe told the Detroit Free Press. “You cherish every day with him, and when he has good days, you cherish them even more.”
Senators winger Erik Condra grew up in suburban Detroit, where Howe was always a living legend.
“I remember growing up and watching his sons play and hearing so much about he played with them in Houston and Hartford,” said Condra. “It was just about how long he played. And how well. There weren’t that many guys that were ever that skilled and that tough.”
Even though Condra grew up in an era when Steve Yzerman was the modern face of the Red Wings, Condra says the Howe mystique was always in the air.
“He always will be the guy,” said Condra.
BABCOCK DEALS WITH FATHER’S DEATH
Red Wings coach Mike Babcock will leave for Saskatoon Wednesday to pay respects to his father, Mike Sr., who died on Saturday.
The elder Babcock had been in ill health for some time.
“The last time I visited him was March 3,” the Red Wings coach said before Tuesday’s game against the Senators. “I always make notes in my phone and there was a note there that said it would be the last time I see my Dad.”
Babcock says he talked to his father every day following morning skates and now “I’ve got to find somebody else to call.”
At the same time, Babcock says his father is in a better place.
“I’m a guy of faith anyway and since I lost my mom, I pray differently. The same thing is going to happen for Dad. It was time for him to leave. He was struggling. To be honest, as sad as it is, it’s a great, great thing.”
Babcock says his father would not want him to stop working.
“In my family, you’re expected to do your job,” he said. “There are expectations. My Dad would expect me to be doing this and do it to the best of my ability and that’s how you honour him.”
Mike Babcock Jr. says Mike Babcock Sr., watched every Red Wings game on television.
“He’ll be tuned in (Tuesday), too,” he said.
JUNIOR TIES
Petr Mrazek, who received the start Tuesday for the Red Wings, has fond memories of his days with the Ottawa 67’s, including breaking into the OHL as a rookie at the same time as current Senators defenceman Cody Ceci.
“Cody was a great player from the beginning,” said Mrazek, who came to the 67’s as an import from the Czech Republic. “We knew from the beginning he was going to be a great defenceman, a great power play player.”
Mrazek says he still talks to Tom Dempsey, his former goalie coach with the 67’s after every game.