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Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky: A legendary bond

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The Great One talks about Gordie Howe's influence on him, the game of hockey, and calls meeting Howe the greatest day of his life.

When it came to No. 9 and No. 99, the bond between Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky spans most of Gretzky’s life.

“The Great One” noted to ESPN that he initially met “Mr. Hockey” when he was about eight or nine years old, the first of many instances in which the two legends crossed paths.

“It was the greatest day of my life,” Gretzky said on the Dan Patrick Show today while discussing Howe’s passing.

Gretzky volunteers as much time and time again: he believes Howe is the best hockey player of all-time.

“I’m impressed by Crosby, Ovechkin, Stamkos, Toews -- those guys do such great things for our game today,” Gretzky told ESPN in February. “But Gordie Howe is the greatest player who ever lived. There’s not even a question about it. Imagine scoring 20 goals at 50 years old? Jonathan Toews might be the greatest athlete in the game today. He’s not playing at 50 and he’s not scoring 20 goals. Nobody ever will again. It’s a fact.”

One of their early meetings spawned this iconic image, via Sports Illustrated’s Vault:

It was far from the last, however, as the two became intrinsically linked as Gretzky eventually passed Howe for the NHL’s all-time points lead.

They even apparently ended up recreating that photo:

Remarkably, Howe and Gretzky crossed paths on the ice during Howe’s incredibly lengthy, one-of-a-kind playing career:

Gretzky noted on the Dan Patrick Show that people sometimes feel disappointment when they meet their idols, yet Howe lived up to lofty expectations.

In this great Sportsnet interview, Gretzky explained the rather simple way that Howe became his favorite player. He also steadfastly sticks to his belief that Howe was the greatest.

“Don’t look at this as I’m breaking your records, look at it as the game’s changed,” Gretzky said when explaining why he asked Howe to be on hand for some of those record-breaking moments.

More than a few people from around the hockey world either agree or at least understand the argument.

In the grand scheme of things, those debates aren’t particularly important. It seems pretty clear that Howe and Gretzky formed a bond that transcended the sport, and they knew it.

Update: Gretzky posted this two-part statement on Twitter:

More on “Mr Hockey.”

The hockey world mourns Howe

Dan Patrick reflects upon Howe’s legacy

The NHL pays tribute to No. 9