Mark Howe

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Position	Defenseman
Shot	Left
Height Weight	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg)
Pro Clubs	Houston Aeros Hartford Whalers Philadelphia Flyers Detroit Red Wings
Nationality	United States
Born	May 28, 1955, Detroit, MI, USA
NHL Draft	25th overall, 1974 Boston Bruins
Pro Career	1973 – 1995

Mark Howe (born May 28, 1955, in Detroit, Michigan) is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League and 6 seasons in the World Hockey Association. He is the son of Mr. Hockey, NHL and WHA legend Gordie Howe. Despite the enormous shadow cast by his father and splitting time between two leagues, Mark shone as one of the best two-way defensemen of the 1980s, being a three time runner-up for the Norris Trophy and thrice making the Stanley Cup finals.

[edit] Playing career

Howe played junior hockey for the Detroit Jr. Red Wings. As a 15 year old, he led his Red Wings to the US Junior Championship in 1971. In 1972, the United States earned a Silver Medal at the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, Japan with 16 year old Mark Howe as one of the stars. Howe eventually ended his junior hockey career playing for the Toronto Marlboros of the OHL, winning a Memorial Cup MVP in the process.

In 1973, he decided to play in the WHA along side his brother, Marty and his father Gordie. Led by the Howes, the Houston Aeros won the first two Avco Cups, awarded to the league champions of the WHA. Mark, playing left wing, was awarded the Lou Kaplan Award as Rookie of the Year and earned 2nd team All-Star status. By the 1976-77 season, Howe was a full-time defenseman. Before the 1977-1978 season, the Howes moved their family act to Hartford, Connecticut to play for the New England Whalers.

When the NHL and WHA merged in 1979, one of the four WHA teams left standing were the Whalers. They changed their name to the Hartford Whalers and Mark Howe, his father and his brother continued one more season together, this time in the National Hockey League. The 1980-81 season proved to be one of Howe's best. Howe was both a mid-season All-Star and finalist for the Norris Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL's Best Defenseman. Howe would finish his career having been the runner-up for the Norris Trophy on 3 occasions, this being the first time. During this season, Howe was involved in one of the more memorable injuries in NHL history. He slid into the pointed metal center of the net and cut a five inch gash in his upper thigh. He was essentially impaled by the metal, and the injury, which nearly ended his career, prompted the NHL to change the design of its nets so that there would no longer be a center portion that jutted up toward the goal line. He lost 35 pounds and his stamina suffered after requiring liquid diet to avoid intenstinal infections. Howe became damaged goods in the eyes of the Whalers management, so they moved Howe, in a 4 player deal that also involved draft picks, to Philadelphia.

As a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, his career took off. The backbone of one of the NHL's best defensive teams of the mid 1980s, he was a finalist for the Norris Trophy after the 1982-83 season. His Philadelphia team, backstopped by Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Pelle Lindbergh, finished the 1984-85 season with most points and earned a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals, only to lose to the Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier-led Edmonton Oilers. Howe again finished second in the Norris Trophy voting.

Howe had his best season during the 1985-86 season where he posted some of the best numbers ever by an NHL defenseman. He scored 24 goals, added 58 assists for 82 total points. He led the NHL with a remarkable +85. He also added 7 shorthanded goals while being the lifeline out of the Flyers defensive zone with his outstanding skating & passing ability. Unfortunately for Howe, Edmonton's Paul Coffey had perhaps the best season by a defenseman in NHL history, breaking Bobby Orr's single-season records for goals and tallying 138 points. Howe, for the third and final time, finished 2nd in Norris Trophy voting.

The 1986-87 season brought great success to both Howe and his Philadelphia Flyers teammates. The Flyers, for the 3rd consecutive season, led the Prince of Wales Conference in points. Led by Howe, rookie netminder Ron Hextall, and a line featuring Brian Propp, Rick Tocchet and Pelle Eklund, the injury-riddled Flyers took the vaunted Edmonton Oilers to 7 games in the NHL Finals before succumbing 3-1 in the finale.

Howe, having struggled with both knee & back injuries, became a part-time player virtually the rest of his career. The decline in his games played coincided with the Flyers decline in play overall. It was no mystery to anyone watching the Flyers on a regular basis from the years 1988-91 why the team struggled. When Howe would be in the lineup, the Flyers looked like a playoff team. Without him, they looked disorganized in their own end.

After the 1991-92 season, the Flyers granted Howe free agency so he could win the as-of-yet elusive Stanley Cup. He signed with the Detroit Red Wings, the team with which his dad had starred. The signing was a popular one in Detroit, as Mark was "returning home" to help build the Wings into a consistent playoff contender. He became a steadying influence on Detroit's young corps of defensemen, mostly notably Nicklas Lidstrom. He would have one more appearance in the Stanley Cup finals, but his Red Wings were swept in 1995 by the New Jersey Devils. He retired following the season, and assumed a role in the Red Wings front office, earning Stanley Cup rings when his team finally captured championships in 1997, 1998, and 2002. Upon his retirement, Howe was the last active member of Canada's 1974 Summit Series team in the NHL.

Mark Howe was elected to Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame in 2001 and the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003. As of 2006, he has not yet been inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Currently, Howe is a pro scout for the Detroit Red Wings and makes his offseason home in the Philadelphia suburbs. His son, Travis Howe, now works in hockey scouting and coaching.

[edit] See also

• List of members of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame
• List of Father/son pairs with most points in NHL
• Gordie Howe
• Marty Howe

[edit] References

• Flyers Heroes of the Past: Mark Howe (Part I of II) at PhiladelphiaFlyers.com. 29 Jan 2007.
• Flyers Heroes of the Past: Mark Howe (Part II of II) at PhiladelphiaFlyers.com. 2 Feb 2007.
• "The 'Other' Great Howe" by John McGourty at NHL.com "Impact" Magazine, April 2003.
• "Howes Make History: The Family that Won Together" by John McGourty at NHL.com "Impact" Magazine, April 2003.
• Legends of Hockey: Mark Howe
• Mark Howe Profile at Hockey Draft Central
• HockeyDB Profile
• Mark Howe's Detroit Red Wings Biography
• Profile at Flyersalumni.org.
• Mark Howe at mrandmrshockey.com (Official Website of Howe family)
• "Mark Howe Singled Out with Induction to Flyers Hall of Fame."
• This Ain't Mark Howe's NHL" at Mlive.com, 28 Sept. 2005.
• Profile by Joe Pelletier.

Preceded by Pelle Lindbergh	Winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy 1986	Succeeded by Ron Hextall
Preceded by Wayne Gretzky	Winner of the NHL Plus/Minus Award 1986	Succeeded by Wayne Gretzky