Mark Steven Howe (born May 28, 1955) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

and left winger. From 1973 to 1995, he played six seasons in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

(WHA) and sixteen seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). Howe is the son of Gordie and Colleen Howe, younger brother of Marty Howe, and nephew of Vic Howe. From 1973 to 1980, Mark played alongside his father Gordie and brother Marty, which resulted in two consecutive Avco World Trophies. Despite the enormous shadow cast by his father and splitting time between two leagues, Howe shone as one of the best two-way NHL defensemen of the 1980s, being a three-time runner-up for the Norris Trophy and making the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

finals three times as a player. He is a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

in 2011. The Howe family received the Wayne Gretzky International Award in 2000, for major contributions to the growth and advancement of hockey in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Amateur career

As a youth, Howe played in the 1965 and 1966

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament () is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, and give an opportunity for international competition to p ...

s along with his brother Marty, on the Detroit Roostertail

minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

team. 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 Howe being the youngest hockey player to win an Olympic medal in ice hockey history. Howe eventually ended his junior hockey career playing for the

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was an ice hockey franchise in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 1903, it operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and la ...

of the OHL, winning a

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

MVP in the process.

Professional career

In 1973, Howe decided to play in the WHA alongside his brother, Marty and his father Gordie. Led by the Howes, the Houston Aeros won the 1974 and 1975

Avco Cup The Avco World Trophy, also known as the Avco Cup, is the playoff championship trophy of the defunct World Hockey Association, which operated from 1972 until 1979. The trophy's naming rights were sold to the former Avco Corporation (a name origin ...

s, awarded to the league champions of the WHA. Mark, playing left wing, was awarded the Lou Kaplan Trophy as Rookie of the Year and earned 2nd team All-Star status. Having dual citizenship, he represented his father's country in the

1974 Summit Series The 1974 Summit Series was the second competition between Soviet and Canadian professional ice hockey players. It used the same format as the 1972 Summit Series, with four games across Canada and four in Moscow. The Soviet team won the series ...

, where he was one of Team Canada's leading scorers. Even though Howe had played a complete season in the WHA, the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

proceeded to select him anyway with their second-round pick in the

1974 NHL amateur draft The 1974 NHL amateur draft was the 12th NHL entry draft. It was held via conference call at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec. In an effort to prevent the WHA from poaching players, the draft was conducted early and in secret. This failed to ...

. He was the first active WHA player to be drafted by an NHL team, and the first of three selected in the 1974 draft, the other two being his brother Marty, selected by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

in the third round, and Tom Edur of the

Cleveland Crusaders The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1975–76 WHA season, 1976. Their home ice was the Cleveland Arena from 1972 to 1974, and t ...

, who was also selected by Boston. All three players opted to remain with their WHA teams after the draft. By the 1976–77 season, Howe was a full-time defenseman. Before the 1977–78 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, who changed their name to the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its 25-year existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1 ...

. In the 1979 NHL Expansion Draft, the

, who held his NHL rights, attempted to reclaim Mark Howe; however, the Whalers used a priority selection to retain him. Due to a

gentlemen's agreement A gentlemen's agreement, or gentleman's agreement, is an informal and legally non-binding wikt:agreement, agreement between two or more parties. It is typically Oral contract, oral, but it may be written or simply understood as part of an unspok ...

between the Whalers and the Red Wings, Detroit opted not to exercise their right to reclaim Gordie Howe; the Wings also opted not to reclaim Marty, whose rights they had previously acquired from Montreal. As a result, Mark, his father and his brother were able to play one more season together with the Whalers, this time in the NHL. The 1980–81 season proved to be one of Howe's best. Howe was a mid-season All-Star, and in the fall, he appeared for the US national team at the 1981 Canada Cup tournament. Howe was involved in one of the more memorable injuries in NHL history. On December 27, 1980, he slid into the pointed metal center of the net and cut a five-inch gash in his rectal area. He was essentially impaled in an injury that nearly ended his career. Following a lawsuit by Howe, the NHL changed the design of its nets so that there would no longer be a center portion that jutted up toward the goal line. He lost 21 pounds and his stamina suffered after requiring a liquid diet to avoid intestinal infections. After Whalers management lost faith in Howe, he requested a trade, and was moved in a four-player deal that also involved draft picks, to the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

. The backbone of one of the NHL's best defensive teams of the mid-1980s, Howe was a finalist for the Norris Trophy three times, those being in 1982–83, 1985–86 and 1986–87 season. His Philadelphia team, backstopped by

Vezina Trophy The Vezina Trophy ( ) is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two List of NHL general managers, NHL general managers vote to dete ...

-winning

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

Pelle Lindbergh, finished the 1984–85 season with most points and earned a berth in the

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...

, only to lose to the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

' dynasty, which featured stars such as

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

, Paul Coffey and Mark Messier. Howe had his best season during the 1985–86 season where he posted some of the best numbers ever by an NHL defenseman, in particular, leading the NHL with a remarkable +85 Plus/Minus rating and 7 shorthanded goals. He scored 24 goals, added 58 assists for 82 total points while being the lifeline out of the Flyers defensive zone with his outstanding skating and passing abilities. Unfortunately for Howe, Paul Coffey had perhaps one of the best seasons by a defenseman in NHL history, breaking Bobby Orr's single-season records for goals with 48, and tallying 138 points. Howe, for the second time, finished runner-up in Norris Trophy voting. The 1986–87 season brought great success to both Howe and his Philadelphia Flyers teammates. The Flyers, for the third consecutive season, led the Prince of Wales Conference in points. Led by Howe and defense partner Brad McCrimmon, 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. After the 1991–92 season, the Flyers granted Howe free agency and he signed with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

, the team with which his father had starred. Howe would have one more appearance in the Stanley Cup finals, but his Red Wings were swept in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

by the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

Post-playing career

Upon his retirement as a player following the 1994–95 season, Howe remained in the Detroit organization working in the hockey operations department first as a video coach and then as a pro scout, earning

rings when the Wings captured championships in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. Upon his retirement, Howe was the last active Houston Aeros or New England Whalers player in the NHL, as well as the last active member of Canada's

team. He currently serves the club as its Director of Pro Scouting being based just outside Philadelphia in Jackson, NJ, from which he primarily covers NHL and AHL teams located in the eastern United States. Howe's older son, Travis, also works in the hockey development and coaching field as co-founder and head coach of the Selects Hockey player development program based in Bloomfield, Michigan. Howe was elected to the Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame in 2001 and the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003. In June 2011, it was announced that Howe had been elected to the

to which he was inducted on November 14, 2011, in the players' category.; he and his father Gordie were the second father-son combination in hockey history to be named to the Hall of Fame, behind Bobby and

Brett Hull Brett Andrew Hull (born August 9, 1964) is a Canadians, Canadian–Americans, American former ice hockey player and general manager, and currently an executive vice president of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played f ...

. On March 6, 2012, the Philadelphia Flyers retired Mark Howe's #2 jersey in an on-ice ceremony at the Wells Fargo Center before a game with the Detroit Red Wings. Howe's number became only the fifth number to be retired by the Flyers in the club's then 44-season history following those of Bernie Parent (1), Bobby Clarke (16), Bill Barber (7) and the late Barry Ashbee (4). He was also the first to be so honoured by the club since Barber's jersey was retired on October 11, 1990. With the retirement of Mark Howe's number 2 by the Flyers, Mark and Gordie Howe became only the second father-and-son combinations ( Bobby and

being the other) to have their numbers retired by NHL franchises. Howe also has won over 26 international awards. Mark Howe retired from Detroit Red Wings as Director of Pro Scouting before the start of 2021-22 season. He served 25 years with the Red Wings as a scout

Awards and achievements

* OJHL First All-Star Team (1971) * Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (

Tournament MVP) (

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

) * WHA Second All-Star Team ( 1974) * Lou Kaplan Trophy (Rookie of the Year – WHA) (1974) * WHA Avco Cup Trophy ( 1974,

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

) * WHA First All-Star Team (

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

) * NHL First All-Star Team (

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, 1986,

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

) * NHL Plus/Minus Award (1986) (+85) * Selected to five NHL All-Star Games:

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, 1986, 1988 and

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

* In 2010, he was inducted into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame as a member of "The Howe Family" (including Gordie, Mark, Marty, and Colleen Howe). * NHL career leader for shorthanded goals scored by a defenseman (tied for 26th overall among all players) with 28. Mark Howe Short Handed NHL Goals (Of his 929 regular-season NHL games, Howe played about four at LW with Hartford, and about 10 at RW with Philadelphia during his NHL career.)

NHL Records

* Most career short-handed goals by a defenseman: (28) * Highest Plus/Minus in a season by a U.S. born defenseman: (+87) in 1985–86 * Highest Plus/Minus career by a U.S. born defenseman: (+400) * Highest Plus/Minus career in playoffs by a U.S. born defenseman: (+54) * Most assists by a rookie U.S. born defenseman in a season: (56) * Most points by a rookie U.S. born defenseman in a season: (80) * Most short-handed goals in a season by a U.S. born defenseman: (7) in 1985–86

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

*
Mark Howe's profile at HockeyDraftCentral.com

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, Mark 1955 births Living people Mark American men's ice hockey defensemen American men's ice hockey left wingers American sportspeople of Canadian descent American people of English descent Boston Bruins draft picks Detroit Red Wings coaches Detroit Red Wings players Detroit Red Wings scouts Hartford Whalers players Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Houston Aeros (WHA) players Ice hockey coaches from Michigan Ice hockey people from Detroit Ice hockey people from Michigan Ice hockey players at the 1972 Winter Olympics Lester Patrick Trophy recipients Medalists at the 1972 Winter Olympics National Hockey League All-Stars National Hockey League players with retired numbers New England Whalers players Olympic silver medalists for the United States in ice hockey Philadelphia Flyers players Stanley Cup champions Toronto Marlboros players United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees