Gordon Howe

Gordon "Mr. Hockey" Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player whose career spanned 26 seasons in the National Hockey League and six in the World Hockey Association between 1946 and 1980. He made his NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings in 1946 and spent his first 25 seasons with the club.

Howe won the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer six times — every year from 1950–51 through 1953–54, then again in 1956–57 and 1962–63 — the second-highest total in NHL history. He led the league in goal-scoring on four occasions and ranked among the NHL's top ten scorers across many seasons. A 23-time NHL All-Star, he retired holding league records with 801 goals, 1,049 assists, and 1,850 total points, marks that stood until Wayne Gretzky surpassed them.

His record of 1,767 NHL games played stood until Patrick Marleau passed it in 2021, and he shares the record for seasons played with Chris Chelios. Often regarded as the most complete player to play the game, Howe was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in 2017.