Mr. Speaker, sadly I also rise to honour the passing of a true Canadian legend, Mr. Hockey, our beloved Gordie Howe.
We could stand here for hours talking about his accomplishments and his love of the game. His career spanned more than six different decades, and he retired as the leading all-time scorer in the NHL.
Mr. Elbows played as a lefty and as a righty and was always tough. We are talking about a player who, after a fractured skull, returned the next season and scored 86 points.
After trying to retire in 1971, Gordie was lured back to the game with the opportunity to play with his two sons. He is still the oldest NHLer ever to play the game, and in an interview, Howe eloquently stated how he wanted to be eulogized: “The third period is finally over. I hope they have a good hockey team in heaven”.
As long as there is hockey, he will never be gone. Here is to Mr. Hockey.