Bruce MacGregor spent 11 seasons playing with Gordie Howe on the Detroit Red Wings. As a second-line winger, MacGregor usually went on the ice right after Mr. Hockey came off.
"But he just never wanted to come off. He wanted to play the whole game. I never saw anyone who loved to play the game more than Gordie did," MacGregor said Friday from his home near Edmonton, Alberta. "We darn near thought he'd play forever."
He darn well almost did, or at least it seemed. Howe died Friday at 88, and tributes poured in from around the globe to one of hockey's Mount Rushmore figures.