Mr. Hockey My Story (29 page)

Here we all are at a family skating party.

There was never any doubt what the boys’ favorite NHL team was going to be.

I have always loved to fish, and I’ll take any chance I can get to put a line in the water. Here I am fighting a marlin in Panama. Fishing is something we have enjoyed as a family since the kids were old enough to hold a rod, and we still like to get out on the water. Here I am in Florida with Mark.

We loved spending time as a family at Bear Lake, in Michigan. Colleen and I enjoyed racing sailboats on the lake—and you can tell by this photo who was the skipper in the family.

I loved my time in Detroit, and I would like to think I had a pretty special relationship with the fans there. My heart is definitely in Detroit. At the same time, I am very grateful for the chance to play in the WHA with Mark and Marty, which led back to the NHL. I loved my second career in professional hockey, though I never felt quite the same in green as I did in red.

The only thing better than playing hockey for a living is playing hockey for a living with your sons. Though I loved Detroit, playing with Marty and Mark in Houston (above) completely restored my love of the game, even though I had retired shortly before. Our move to New England eventually brought about something none of us expected: a return to the NHL. Here we are, years later, with our old Whalers sweaters at the WHA Hall of Fame booth.

It doesn’t matter how much gray hair you have, you never lose your love of the game. I never missed a chance to get back on the ice, and you can tell by the smiles that I enjoyed it. Here I am at the 1999 All-Star Game in Tampa. One thing the greatest players have in common is that they love the game. I don’t think many people love it more than Bobby Orr (below).

There is nothing more important than friends and family. That’s Colleen sharing a laugh with close family friend Al Philpot on his boat in Miami. Here we all are at Colleen’s 65th birthday party: Cathy, Mark, my older brother Vern, Colleen, Murray, Marty, and me. I have gone from being the kid in the family to the great-grandfather. Here I am holding Travis and Kristen’s daughter Ainsley.