Gordie Howe won the Stanley Cup four times during his illustrious career with the Detroit Red Wings.
On Wednesday, the legendary Mr. Hockey was in the company of professional hockey's priceless sterling trophy once more -- in spirit and, in a very small way, in body too.
As part of its summer tour with members of the 2022-23 championship Vegas Golden Knights organization, the Stanley Cup was in Glastonbury, Connecticut for a portion of the day with Keith Veronesi, the team's director of scouting operations.
For the occasion, Marty Howe brought a small sharing urn of his father's ashes to a quiet celebration at the home of Steve and Linda Veronesi, Keith's parents, "so that Gordie could get next to the Stanley Cup one more time."
It was even more special considering that Howe's name no longer is on the Stanley Cup; the band on which he appeared with the 1954 and 1955 Red Wings was removed in September 2018, a fresh ring of silver fitted on the barrel when the top band into which it was tapped and the four beneath it had been filled.
On Thursday, Keith Veronesi was still trying process it all, the surreal experience of having the Stanley Cup at his parents' home taken to another level altogether with the presence of Mr. Hockey.
A sharing urn containing some of Gordie Howe's cremated remains, and Marty Howe and his wife, Mary, with the urn and the Stanley Cup on Wednesday in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Courtesy Marty Howe
"I didn't know until (Wednesday) morning that Marty was bringing his dad's ashes, and I didn't know that Gordie's name isn't on the Cup today," Veronesi said. "I had no idea."
Marty Howe and his wife, Mary, go back a long way with Veronesi and his parents.
"Keith used to do yard work for us … he knew how to use a shovel," Howe joked.
"I pretty much did all the work that Marty didn't want to do," Veronesi replied brightly.
Marty and Mary Howe had hired Veronesi for various jobs on their Glastonbury property, "and because Keith was so good, we kept using him for more things."
Finishing his sophomore year at Connecticut College in 2013, Veronesi accompanied Mr. Hockey to a half-dozen or so summertime events, Howe scaling back his appearances.
"I'd be amazed to come out of our hotel and find the crowds waiting for Gordie, having found out where we were staying," he said. "He'd sign things for hours and hours."
Veronesi sometimes had to be a bodyguard, stepping in when the crowds just kept coming.
"Keith knew when to say no, which Gordie never did," Marty Howe said.
Gordie Howe as a member of the Detroit Red Wings, and in 1979 as a member of the Hartford Whalers. Macdonald Stewart, Robert Shaver/Hockey Hall of Fame
With the Stanley Cup on its way to Glastonbury, Marty knew what had to happen -- Mr. Hockey needed to spend a little more time with hockey's most prized trophy. He just didn't share the idea with Veronesi until almost the last minute.
Howe had five small sharing urns made upon his father's death on June 10, 2016, at age 88; three were produced for his siblings -- Cathy, Murray and for Mark, the 2011 Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman - as well as one for himself and one to be placed with Howe's statue in his hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
"They're heavy … Gordie makes a great paperweight," he said with a laugh, knowing that his father would love such a reference given the latter's legendary sense of humor.
In a small case adorned with two photos -- one with the Stanley Cup in the Toronto shrine's Great Hall, the other posing as captain of the Red Wings -- Howe was at the base of the Stanley Cup on Wednesday.
Veronesi played four seasons with NCAA Division III Connecticut College from 2010-14, captain of the team in his senior year as he worked toward a bachelor's degree in sociology and American studies.
He spent two years upon graduation working for the Utica Comets, the American Hockey League affiliate of the New Jersey Devils, then in 2016 took a hockey operations position with the Vegas Golden Knights, who were preparing to make their NHL debut the following year. He was promoted to director of scouting operations in 2021.
From left, Marty, Mark and Gordie Howe with the Stanley Cup in the Hockey Hall of Fame's Great Hall during Mark's 2011 Hall of Fame induction weekend. Bruce Bennett, Getty Images
Gordie Howe is in every discussion about the greatest athletes of all time, in any sport. His pro career spanned 32 seasons -- 26 in the NHL, six in the World Hockey Association -- with a one-game contract signed with Detroit of the International Hockey League on Oct. 3, 1997, to see him become the first player to skate in six decades.
Mr. Hockey's honor roll, in part: four Stanley Cup championships won with the Red Wings; Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 1972; 23 NHL All-Star Game appearances; six Hart Trophy and six Art Ross Trophy wins, given to the most valuable player and top point-scorer in the NHL, respectively; 22 consecutive NHL seasons of scoring at least 23 goals; top five in NHL scoring for 20 straight seasons between 1949-69; countless off-ice honors that include arenas and buildings named for him, and a bridge under construction, scheduled for completion in 2024, to link Canada and the United States across the Detroit River.
Howe was the first NHL player to reach 1,000 points and retired from the Hartford Whalers in 1980, at age 52, as the League's leader with 1,767 games played (now ranked second to Patrick Marleau's 1,779); 801 goals (now third to Wayne Gretzky's 894 and Alex Ovechkin's 822); 1,049 assists (now 10th, Gretzky is first with 1,963); and 1,850 points (now fourth, Gretzky leads with 2,857).
On Wednesday, Mr. Hockey and hockey's holy grail were reunited alongside a new Stanley Cup champion who remains in awe of him to this day, having worn No. 9 for three of his four collegiate seasons.
"For obvious reasons," Steve Veronesi said of his son's number choice. "The day with the Stanley Cup was better than we ever could have imagined."
For Marty Howe, it was just one more way to celebrate his father.
"The Cup meant an awful lot to Gordie, so it was great to have him back with it," he said. "Maybe Vegas can repeat next year."
Top photo: Keith Veronesi, director of scouting operations for the Vegas Golden Knights, with Marty Howe and a sharing urn containing a small portion of Gordie Howe's cremated remains in Glastonbury, Connecticut, on Aug. 16, 2023. Courtesy Marty Howe
