Canadian hockey legend Gordie Howe dead at 88

Canadian ice hockey legend Gordie Howe, a Hall of Famer known as "Mr. Hockey" and a four-time Stanley Cup winner with the Detroit Red Wings, died Friday, the team said. He was 88.

Howe spent a quarter-century with the Red Wings in the National Hockey League, six more seasons playing alongside sons Mark and Marty in the rival World Hockey Association and a final campaign back in the NHL with the Hartford Whalers at age 52.

The Red Wings announced Howe's passing on Twitter with a photo and the message: "Thank You Mr. Hockey 1928-2016."

The cause of Howe's death was not immediately known, but he had battled dementia in his later years and suffered a serious stroke in October of 2014.

"All hockey fans grieve the loss of the incomparable Gordie Howe," said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. "Gordie's greatness travels far beyond mere statistics.

"It echoes in the words of veneration spoken by countless players who joined him in the Hockey Hall of Fame and considered him their hero."

Most of the NHL's scoring records were owned by Howe, whose first NHL game was in 1946 and last came in 1980, until broken by Wayne Gretzky, whose boyhood idol was Howe.

Ice hockey fans refer to a player with a goal, an assist and a fight in the same game as having a "Gordie Howe hat trick".

- Tough and humble -

"Gordie's toughness as a competitor on the ice was equaled only by his humor and humility away from it," Bettman said. "No sport could have hoped for a greater, more-beloved ambassador.

"On behalf of the generations who were thrilled by his play and those who only know of his legend, and on behalf of all the young people and teammates he inspired, we send heartfelt wishes of condolence, comfort and strength to the Howe family and to all who mourn the passing of this treasured icon of our game."

A bronze statue of Howe stands in front of the Red Wings' home, the Joe Louis Arena.

In a record 1,767 NHL games, Howe scored 801 goals, assisted on 1,049 others and accumulated 1,685 penalty minutes.

Howe led the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup championship in 1950, 1952, 1954 and 1955.

He won the Art Ross trophy as the NHL's top point producer six times between 1951 and 1963 and the Hart Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player six times from 1952 to 1963.

Howe's wife Colleen served as his representative financially until her death in 2009 after a long illness.

"A remarkable athlete whose mastery of our sport was reflected by the longevity of his career and by his nickname 'Mr. Hockey,' Gordie's commitment to winning was matched only by his commitment to his teammates, to his friends, to the Red Wings, to the city of Detroit and ? above all ? to his family," Bettman said.

The Red Wings and the Whalers, who are now the Carolina Hurricanes, retired Howe's jersey number, nine, and Howe was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.

But nowhere was Howe's passing taken harder than in Detroit, where he thrilled crowds for decades in the old Olympia arena.

"We not only lost a sports legend, but also one of the most iconic, impactful and beloved people our community will ever know," said Ron Woods, president of the NFL's Detroit Lions.

"Gordie Howe's imprint on the city of Detroit, the state of Michigan and the game of hockey was generational and ever-lasting. He was a true gentleman and an inspiration to so many. His legacy will undoubtedly live on forever."