Why Mark Howe says Gordie would celebrate Sharks’ Patrick Marleau breaking his record

Patrick Marleau is set to break Gordie Howe’s record for all-time games a week from Monday. Playing as long as Mr. Hockey, however, isn’t in the veteran forward’s plans.

Howe was 52 years and 10 days old when he played the last of his 1,767 NHL games on April 6, 1980, with Hartford. His record will last 41 years and 13 days if Marleau, 41, plays No. 1,768 in Las Vegas on April 19.

“When Dad retired at 52 he wanted to keep playing,” said Mark Howe, the middle of his late father’s three sons. “The Whalers pushed him out a little bit. You try to win, you try to get better and that continues until the day you retire.”

Marleau recently said he would like to play beyond this season — his 23rd in the NHL — but harbors no illusion of another 10 seasons or matching Gordie Howe’s 32 in pro hockey. Mr. Hockey really was one of a kind.

“It’s the drive, the passion for this sport, the love of the game,” Mark Howe said. “You have to enjoy the compete level every single night. That’s all you can do. That’s what creates longevity. And obviously Patrick has that.

“If Dad were around he’d be the first to congratulate him.”

Howe, who died in 2016, played professionally from 1946-80 — the first 25 years with Detroit, six more in the World Hockey Association and a one-year return to the NHL when Hartford merged in 1979-80. Howe’s 419 games played in the WHA with Houston and New England don’t count toward his NHL mark. In all, Howe appeared in 2,186 regular-season pro games and another 235 in playoffs.

A 21-time All-Star, Howe won six Hart Trophies as MVP in the NHL, four Stanley Cups with the Red Wings and six scoring titles. His 801 goals rank second all-time behind Wayne Gretzky’s 894. Howe combined skill with toughness to pose as the most intimidating presence of his era.

“He was by far the toughest player I saw,” Mark Howe said. “I’d say he’d have a hard time playing today because he’d be suspended so much. He broke in at 208 pounds when most guys were 170. Then he had that mean, nasty streak and tremendous amount of natural ability, too.”

Mark Howe, 65, carved out a 16-year Hall of Fame career from 1979-95, but broke into pro hockey in storybook fashion by signing along with his brother Marty Howe to play on the same forward line with their father Gordie in Houston.

“He was by far the best player,” Mark said of Gordie, who was league MVP at age 45. “It just goes to show what a great athlete he was at that age. We played seven years together. What a great honor it was to play with him.”

Gordie Howe hails from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, a town about 240 miles north of Marleau’s family farm in Aneroid. Mark Howe credits his father’s freakish strength from working construction with his father at a young age, and shoveling wet sand for hours at the family beach house during his career.

And then there was Gordie’s diet.

“Maybe it was the oatmeal,” said Mark Howe, who works as the Red Wings’ director of pro scouting. “Dad grew up during the Depression and used to eat oatmeal 10 times a week. Even toward the end if I told him I was making oatmeal for breakfast he’d be happier than a pig.”

Mark is certain his father had a lot in common with Marleau.

“Athletes back in the day had to continue to play to make money,” the son said. “Nowadays players can say, ‘Oh, I’ve got enough,’ and retire. They’re set for life.

“It’s obvious that’s not what drives Patrick Marleau. And I think that’s what Dad would be most proud of. Patrick is doing this because he loves it and doesn’t want to quit.”

Ross McKeon covers the Sharks for the San Francisco Chronicle. Twitter: @rossmckeon