I'm very suprised at some of the comments against Gordie Howe.
First, I'm curious as to why his longevity seems to be viewed as a mark against him by some. The best hockey player doesn't mean the best peak only. I'd think a man maintaining dominance well into his 40s would be more proof that he's one of the greatest ever since either age has no effect on the man or his skills and smarts were so elite that he was able to adjust and continue to be one of the best in the game even as his physical body began to decline. That's something Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr couldn't do. It's also something Wayne Gretzky did to a lesser extent.
Secondly, I think it's unfair to say Howe's fame is a product of his longevity. Like Chris Chelios today, I think his longevity overshadows how great he was in his prime. If the first thing you think of when you hear Gordie Howe is his longevity it's possible that you haven't fully understood how great he was. I know Mr. Hockey is just a gimmick name, but it was given to him and nobody argued it. He played in the era against some of the best right wings in history and he came out being viewed as the greatest hockey player in history until Orr and Gretzky entered the debate. Children wanted to be Gordie Howe. Even one of his chief rivals in this debate, Wayne Gretzky, idolized the man growing up and he chose 99 as a tribute to Gordie.
I know stats are generally frowned upon in this forum, but I feel in this case they are necessary because some of the comments about Howe make me wonder if his dominance during his prime is really understood.
He was top 5 in NHL scoring for 20 straight seasons. TWENTY SEASONS, in an era where a 20 year career was a rarity. Unlike Gretzky, Lemieux, or Orr he was also ambidextrous. He used no curve and shot forehand both ways. How many players can say that? In his time he was larger and stronger than most or all of his peers and dominated physically. Even as an 18tr old rookie he created a buzz throughout the league when he stepped up to a Maurice Richard challenge and knocked him unconcious with one punch. If Eddie Shore was mean, Gordie Howe might have been meaner still. This is a guy who got a fighting major in the All-Star game in '48. He might be the most competative player ever. He changed his game over the years and took fewer penalties. He came back from a life-threatening injury when he fractured his skull trying to check Ted Kennedy in a playoff game. His stamina was widely accepted to be among the best and in an era where top players generally played 20-30 minutes a night, he would often play 45 or more. Even Wayne Gretzky never eclipsed Howe's career goals mark when you combine NHL and WHA. Howe scored an incredible 975 between the leagues to Gretzky's 931. He played the final 7 years of his career with severe arthritis in his wrist that led to his first retirement after the 1970-71 season. He scored at a PPG clip in the Summit Series in 1974-75.
* First or second team All-Star every season from 1949-1970 except for 1955, or 21 times in the NHL in 22 seasons
* Had his best statistical season at the age of 40 (44-59-103 +45)
* Top 5 in points in the NHL 20 times (1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969)
* Top 5 in goals in the NHL 13 times (1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1969)
* Top 5 in assists in the NHL 17 times (1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969)
* Top 5 in PIM in the NHL 1 time (1954)
* 6 Art Ross Trophies (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1963)
* 6 Hart Trophies (1952, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1963)
* Lester Patrick Trophy (1967)
Very impressive list for sure, but it's the level that he dominated those scoring races that sets him apart:
1950-51: 23.26% scoring margin (86 to 66) Age: 22
1951-52: 19.75% scoring margin (86 to 69) Age: 23
1952-53: 23.26% scoring margin (95 to 71) Age: 24
1953-54: 17.28% scoring margin (81 to 67) Age: 25
1956-57: 4.49% scoring margin (89 to 85) Age: 28
1962-63: 5.81% scoring margin (86 to 81) Age: 34
That wasn't against weak competition either. That was against players who are all-time greats and likely to be in our final top 10 to top 50. That's a level of dominance only Gretzky can rival, and that margin only gets larger if you compare it you take out his linemates.
Wayne Gretzky
1980-81: 17.68% scoring margin (164 to 135) Age: 19
1981-82: 30.66% scoring margin (212 to 147) Age: 20
1982-83: 36.73% scoring margin (196 to 124) Age: 21
1983-84: 38.54% scoring margin (205 to 126) Age: 22
1984-85: 35.10% scoring margin (208 to 135) Age: 23
1985-86: 34.42% scoring margin (212 to 141) Age: 24
1986-87: 40.98% scoring margin (183 to 108) Age: 25
1989-90: 9.15% scoring margin (142 to 129) Age: 28
1990-91: 19.63% scoring margin (163 to 131) Age: 29
1993-94: 7.69% scoring margin (130 to 120) Age: 32
How do Lemieux and Orr compare?
Mario Lemieux
1987-88: 11.31% scoring margin (168 to 149) Age: 21
1988-89: 15.58% scoring margin (199 to 168) Age: 22
1991-92: 6.11% scoring margin (131 to 123) Age: 25
1992-93: 7.50% scoring margin (160 to 148) Age: 26
1995-96: 7.45% scoring margin (161 to 149) Age: 29
1996-97: 10.66% scoring margin (122 to 109) Age: 30
Bobby Orr
1969-70: 17.50% scoring margin (120 to 99) Age: 21
1974-75: 5.93% scoring margin (135 to 127) Age: 26
Lemieux's never had a season where he dominated his peers from a scoring perspective the way Gretzky and Howe did. The argument that he had to compete with Gretzky is moot since Gretzky had to compete with him and many of his season Wayne wasn't even the #2 scorer in the NHL. Orr had that first Art Ross season at a level where only two players have ever gone, but it's not fair to compare him with Howe and Gretzky directly since as a defenseman his accomplishments are even more staggering. Just a quick look over the scoring leaders in the NHL that the only players other than Howe and Gretzky to have at least a 20.00% scoring margin in a season were Bill Cowley (1940-41 @ 29.03%), Howie Horenz (1927-28 @ 23.53%), and Phil Esposito (1972-73 @ 20.00%).
Comparing the competition levels would seem to favor Gretzky and Lemieux, but does it really? They mainly competed with each other for a short time before Wayne's age began to take a toll into his mid 30's. By then, Lemieux was competing mainly against himself and his health. In fact, Lemieux never played every game in any single season in his entire career, topping out at 79 games in his sophomore season and reaching the 70 games margin on 6 times. He was great, but he was brittle even in his early years. Part of greatness in my opinion is the ability to be able to play when called upon and Lemieux could never be counted upon for a full schedule. Gordie Howe, by contrast, missed only 35 games from 1949-50 until his first retirement after the 1970-71 season, and 15 of those games were in his final year as a 41 year old. He didn't miss a single regular season game the year after nearly dying when he fractured his skull in the 1949-50 playoffs. He not only had longevity, he had durability. Gretzky's main competition were Lafleur, Dionne, Bossy, and Peter Stastny early then Lemieux, Messier, and Yzerman later. Lemieux competed early with Gretzky, Messier, and Yzerman and later with Jagr, Sakic, and Selanne. Howe's early competition were Richard, Lindsay, Beliveau, Max Bentley, Schmidt, Geoffrion, Abel, and Delvecchio early then Dickie Moore, Beliveau, Bathgate, Bobby Hull, Mikita, Mahovlich, and Henri Richard later. I'd give the edge in competition to Howe here. He not only dominated, he dominated against players who will be highly ranked on this list, 3 of which are likely to be top 10.
Now you look at Howe's WHA career where he was already in his mid-to-late 40s. The competition level wasn't as high but he still won the MVP award his first season as a 45 year old (after which the league renamed the MVP trophy to Gordie Howe Trophy in his honor). It wasn't just a gift trophy either, he finished 3rd in scoring that season and had 100 points, 5 more than Bobby Hull. He led Houston to consecutive Avco World Trophy titles in his first two seasons before being swept by Hull's Winnepeg team in the 1975-76 finals. He put up another 100+ point season that year at the age of 47, the last time he reached triple digits. He went to the New England team in the 1977-78 season and again led them to the finals only to once again lose to Hull and the Jets in a sweep. When the league folded after the 1978-79 season, Howe was the 7th leading scorer in league history with 508pts in 419 games, all done from the ages of 45 through 50 on a severly arthritic wrist. He played his final season, at 51, for the Hartford Whalers and didn't miss a single game while average a bit over 0.5ppg and was a plus player at +9. As a 51 year old he still able to compete at an NHL level and was tied for 3rd in playoff scoring on the team that season.
I'm probably rambling now, but I just feel that the accomplishments of Gordie Howe aren't fully appreciated by everyone, so this is my attempt to change your opinion. Sure, he played for a long time but he played at an elite level for a long time, not as a scrub or someone who simply piled up numbers because he hung on.
