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All About The Gordie Howe Hat Trick
by Paul on 10/29/08 at 02:04 PM ET
Comments (8)
from Jeff Marek of Blogs and Colums at CBC,
I have nothing personal against Gordie Howe and would rank him, like many others, in the top five players to ever lace up the blades. Howe was a great skater with a hard, accurate shot (heck, he could shoot both left and right). He was tough, hit for keeps and played the game the way many believe it should be played.
And to this day he remains a nice man and an excellent ambassador for the game of hockey.
However, like many of you, I’m curious where the phrase Gordie Howe hat trick came from. He was not the first player to register a goal, assist and fight in a game, that distinction belongs to Toronto Arena’s Harry Cameron who did so on Dec. 26, 1917. Yes, he did it on Boxing Day, how appropriate.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Gordie+Howe,
Comments
Did this guy write this article with a straight face? Are you kidding me?
Posted by Animal Drew from A Nightmare on Helm Street on 10/29/08 at 02:29 PM ET
I thought it was always well understood that the term wasn’t literal or necessarily mathematically accurate. It was always about the fact that Gordie Howe was willing to do anything on the ice, and not just willing, but that he had the chops to do all of it.
Posted by Nathan on 10/29/08 at 02:34 PM ET
I agree. This guy is taking the name of the accomplishment far, far too literally. They call it that because Howe was tough as nails and incredibly gifted in all facets of the game. He could do it all: hit, fight, pass the puck, and score. Hence, the “Gordie Howe Hat Trick.”
I never read the CBC blogs, but if this is representative of the quality, I’m not missing out on much. (Given that they have Mibury blogging I reckon it’s pretty close.)
Posted by Ajax19 on 10/29/08 at 03:06 PM ET
“Perhaps the term is more symbolic than anything, indicative of a spirit as opposed to a fact.”
See, when you’re writing an article such as this one, you are NOT supposed to put the above quote in there, because you KNOW for a fact that this is the reason for the term, and it takes away any kind of analysis or dissection you’re going to use. I stopped reading after that line because what’s the point?
Posted by Garth on 10/29/08 at 03:49 PM ET
Actually, in his zeal to dispell Howe’s tough guy “myth”, the info he provides only further strengthens the very case he’s trying to derail.
His list of confirmed fights Howe was in is 22 fights.
That’s what, 20 more than Mario Lemieux ever got into (confirmed).
22 more than Wayne Gretzky ever sniffed.
21 more than “Little Jesus” Crosby’s gotten into so far.
And according to about 3 minutes of research on hockeyfights.com:
* 12 more than Mark Messier ever got into in his 853-year career, despite Messier’s “tough” reputation..
* 8 more than Cam Neely ever got into, despite his ridiculous Boston-fueled reputation..
* 5 more than the supposedly-tough Claude “:The Turtle” Lemieux ever saw in his career.
* 19 more than Ilya Kovalchuk has been in (yes, he’s been in 3 already).
The only real modern equivalent woulds be, say, Jarome Iginla (but whose point production consistency is far too flakey or hot-cold to really be considered in the same league as Howe still, to be honest).
Definitely food for thought. Gordie Howe was a bad, bad man on the ice, any way you slice it. And he played much of his time on a line with another bad, bad man—Ted Lindsey, who was so bad they had to give him the nickname “Terrible Ted”.
Besides, what’s next? Does the blogger call for the renaming of the “Rocket” Richard Trophy for most goals scored, because others have scored more than him?
Posted by Primis on 10/29/08 at 03:54 PM ET
A far more important question (and potential article for a slow day), why is friction tape also called Gordie Howe tape?
Posted by Django on 10/29/08 at 07:48 PM ET
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He says, “Isn’t time we rename this feat?”
Rename it to what?
Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 10/29/08 at 02:08 PM ET