By John McGourty

Gordie Howe retired from the NHL in 1980 as the all-time leading scorer with 801 goals and 1,850 points. He led many other statistical categories but one he surely didn't lead is the unofficial one that came to bear his name, "the Gordie Howe Hat Trick," which is a goal, an assist and a fight in the same game.

We'll never know for sure because no one kept that statistic until The Hockey News started in 1996. For awhile, the leader was current Tampa Bay Lightning coach Rick Tocchet -- like Howe, a rugged customer with good hockey skills.


http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=5...NHL0873-176329