Oct. 8: Howe signs first contract with Red Wings

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Oct. 8
1946:
Gordie Howe
begins his NHL journey when he signs a contract with the Detroit Red Wings.

Howe, an 18-year-old from Floral, Saskatchewan, makes his NHL debut eight days later. He finishes his first season with 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 58 games. By 1949-50, he's a 35-goal scorer and begins a run of 20 seasons when he finishes in the top five in the NHL scoring race. He wins the Art Ross Trophy six times and plays on four Stanley Cup-winning teams with Detroit.
Howe is 52 when he retires June 4, 1980, holding the NHL record for games played (1,767), goals (801) and points (1,850).

MORE MOMENTS
1963: Montreal Canadiens rookie
John Ferguson
gets into a fight on the first shift of his NHL debut, but also scores two goals and has an assist in
a 4-4 tie
against the Boston Bruins. Ferguson gets his Gordie Howe Hat Trick while playing on a line with
Jean Beliveau
and
Bernie Geoffrion
.
1971:
Craig Patrick
becomes the first third-generation player in NHL history when he plays for the California Golden Seals in a
4-4 opening-night tie
against the visiting Los Angeles Kings. His father (
Lynn Patrick
) and grandfather (
Lester Patrick
), are members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
1975:The longest consecutive games-played streak in NHL history begins when
Doug Jarvis
of the Canadiens plays the first of 964 straight games. Jarvis starts the streak with Montreal, continues it with the Washington Capitals and ends it with the Hartford Whalers on Oct. 10, 1987.

1983: Regular-season overtime returns to the NHL for the first time since 1942. After
Bob Nystrom
ties the game with 56 seconds remaining in the third period,
Bob Bourne
scores in OT to give the New York Islanders
an 8-7 victory
against the Washington Capitals at Capital Centre.
1993: The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim play their first NHL game and
lose to the Red Wings 7-2
at Arrowhead Pond. Defenseman
Sean Hill
scores the first goal in Mighty Ducks history at 4:13 of the second period to make it 3-1, but Detroit scores the next four before
Troy Loney
's third-period power-play goal for Anaheim. The Mighty Ducks finish their first NHL season 33-46 with five ties.
2014:
Antti Niemi
makes
34 saves
in the San Jose Sharks'
4-0 victory against the Los Angeles Kings
at Staples Center. Niemi is the first goalie to shut out the defending Stanley Cup champions in their season-opening game since
Turk Broda
of the Toronto Maple Leafs does it against the Bruins on
Nov. 8, 1941
.
2017:Henrik Lundqvist makes 34 saves and the New York Rangers
defeat the Canadiens 2-0
at Madison Square Garden. Lundqvist makes an unexpected start one night after allowing five goals in the first period before being pulled in an 8-5 road loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The shutout is the 62nd of his NHL career, moving him past Broda into 16th place on the all-time list.

2019:The Winnipeg Jets end an 18-game road losing streak against the Pittsburgh Penguins with a
4-1 victory
at PPG Paints Arena. It's their first win in Pittsburgh since the franchise relocates from Atlanta in 2011. Before the win, the Thrashers/Jets are 0-14-4 in Pittsburgh since a
4-2 Atlanta victory at Mellon Arena
on Dec. 27, 2006.
On the same night, Florida Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle becomes the fifth player in NHL history and the first born in the United States to
play in 800 consecutive regular-season games
. Yandle scores a goal but the
Panthers lose 6-3
to the Carolina Hurricanes at BB&T Center.