Just days after Gordie Howe suffered a serious stroke, his family released a video of the hockey legend taking in a pre-game tribute in his honour.
On Saturday morning, his son, Murray Howe, posted a video to YouTube of “Mr. Hockey” surrounded by family members at his Texas home on Friday.
The video shows Howe watching on an iPad a livestream of a Detroit Red Wings ceremony in his honour.
“We ask that you please rise in celebration and support and let him hear you this evening,” says the announcer, who called Howe the team’s “patriarch.”
Cameras panned across a crowd holding “Get Well Gordie” signs and chanting the hockey legend’s name.
“Gordie is resting comfortably in Texas with all four of his children by his side, where he is watching tonight’s game,” the announcer added.
In the video, Howe, 86, stares at the iPad and at one point says something inaudible.
“They’re cheering for you, dad,” his daughter is heard saying.
In a statement released by the Red Wings on Wednesday, Howe’s four children confirmed that their father had suffered a stroke on Oct. 26 in Lubbock, Texas, where he lives with a daughter.
Saskatchewan-born Howe played 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and won four Stanley Cups.
At age 52, he became the oldest man to have ever played in the NHL. He also holds records for the most consecutive 20-goal seasons (22) and most All-Star Game appearances (23).
On Tuesday, son Murray Howe said that his father was struggling to talk due to partial paralysis and couldn’t get out of bed without assistance. He also explained that his father suffers from a “dementia-type illness” that causes short-term memory loss, but that he still recognizes family members. Howe had been doing well prior to suffering the stroke and was still walking at least a mile a day.
As part of Friday’s tribute, the entire Detroit Red Wings team wore no. 9 jerseys during their warm-up.
Howe released an autobiography just last month, called “Mr. Hockey: My Story.”
