There is a story Brian Burke likes to tell about Gordie Howe, and it is obvious how much he likes to tell it, because it still makes him smile. It is an older story, from an abbreviated stay with the Hartford Whalers two decades ago, when Howe was working a peripheral job with the team.
Burke was a first-year general manager. Howe was a retired legend, already in his 60s.
“He came into my office and he’s sitting across from me, he’s going like this,” Burke said, mimicking the way Howe was craning his neck, as if looking for something on the wall behind Burke.