Family Ties

In the 100 year history of the NHL there have been thousands upon thousands of players to have skated in the league. In many cases brothers, uncles, nephews and in laws have played in the league, sometimes even with or against each other.

With all of the families that have played in the NHL ranging from the Gretzkys to the Hulls, the Howes to the Drydens, how many families have stood the test of time and been in the league going from nearly the dawn of the league to the modern game? There hasn’t been many but let’s take a look at a few of them.

The Morenz/Geoffrion/Monahan family  (1923 to 2013, Howie Morenz, Bernie Geoffrion, Hartland Monahan, Danny Geoffrion and Blake Geoffrion)

Yes that’s correct this link goes from the 1920s to 2010s! The first member of the family to suit up in the league would be “the Stratford Streak” Howie Morenz. Morenz would play 14 years in the league, and at the time of his final game was the NHL’s all time points leader with 472. He was an early icon to English speaking Montreal Canadiens fans but tragically his career would be cut short due to a broken leg during the 1936-37 season and he would pass away due to complications from the leg.

Morenz’s daughter Marlene would marry Habs winger Bernie Boom Boom Geoffrion. Geoffrion would go onto have a 16 year career with Montreal and the New York Rangers, winning six Stanley Cups along with a scoring title in the 1954-55 season,  the Calder Trophy and two Art Ross trophies. Boom Boom would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972 and his number #5 was retired by the Canadiens on March 11th, 2006.

Geoffrion’s son in law Hartland Monahan would make his NHL debut in 1973-74 with a brief stint with the California Golden Seals and another brief stint the following year with the Rangers. He’d find a place on the new Washington Capitals and in 1976-77 would be one of the franchises early bright spots with a 23 goal season.

Hartland’s career after Washington would take him to LA, Pittsburgh and the St.Louis Blues and he’d call it a career after the 1980-81 season.

Boom Boom and Marlene’s son Danny would also go on to make the NHL, coming over from the WHA’s Quebec Nordiques making his debut in the league the Canadiens in the 1979-80 season. Danny’s time though with the blue blanc and rouge wouldn’t last very long as he’d play only 32 games with the franchise before moving onto the Winnipeg Jets and he’d retire in 1983 but that’s not the end of the tale.

Danny’s son Blake, a product of the University of Wisconsin-Madison would become the first fourth generation NHLer when he made his debut with the Nashville Predators in the 2010-11 season. Blake would also like his father, grandfather and great grand father play for the Habs but unfortunately his career would be cut short at the age of 25 due to a skull fracture he suffered while playing for Montreal’s AHL team the Hamilton Bulldogs during the 2012-13 season.

Blake’s hockey journey as a whole wouldn’t end though as today he’s currently the assistant General Manager of the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters.

The Howes ( Gordie, Vic, Mark, and Marty 1946 to 1995)

The Howe family is a truly interesting one as Gordie almost set the record himself by playing in the NHL from the 1940s to the 1980s!

Gordie’s storied career which started in 1946 and ended in 1980 saw him put up 1850 points, 801 goals, deliver 43,000 elbows and win four Stanley Cups with the Red Wings. His sons Mark and Marty would admirably add to the Howe legacy after their pro careers began with their dad in the WHA in Houston in 1973-74 winning two AVCO Cups along with the pops in Texas before moving on to being the faces of the New England Whalers.

Gordie would also briefly get a chance to play against his brother as Vic Howe in the early 1950s would play parts of three seasons with the New York Rangers before embarking on a minor league career that saw him go all across North America and eventually retire from the game after a stint in England.

All three would stay with the franchise when they’d enter the NHL and be re christened as the Hartford Whalers but it would be the final season for Gordie as he’d hang them up for the final time at the age of 52. Mark and Marty’s careers would keep on going but Marty would bounce up and down between the NHL and AHL before retiring in 1984 and coming back briefly to play in the CoHL with the  in 1992-93 for the Flint Bulldogs.

Mark would go on to play seasons in the NHL as a steady D-man for Hartford, Philly, and finally and fittingly the Detroit Red Wings. Mark would call it a career after Detroit fell to New Jersey in four games in the 1995 Stanley Cup Final. In 2011 he’d join his father as a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The Conacher/Henderson family (Lionel, Charlie, Roy, Murray Henderson, Pete, Brian and Corey, 1925 to Present)

It’s the oldest active family name in the NHL, and the first one to make the NHL has had, by far, the most lasting impact on Canadian sports. The Conacher brothers – Lionel, Charlie and Roy – would make names for themselves in the NHL from the 1920s to the 50s but the oldest brother in the family in the form of Lionel could easily be considered the Canadian Jim Thorpe.

Conacher excelled in football, lacrosse, baseball, boxing, pro wrestling and track and field. Conacher won the Canadian amateur light heavyweight boxing title in 1920 and helped the Argonauts win the Grey Cup in 1921. The fact that Lionel ever played pro hockey is incredible considering he didn’t learn how to skate until he was 16!

Charlie and Roy would also have fruitful careers in the NHL as all three would win the Stanley Cup and each of them has a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame with Charlie going into the hall first in 1961, Lionel in 1994 and Roy in 1998. They are the only trio of brothers to be inducted into the Hall.

The family imprint in the league would continue with Roy’s nephew Murray Henderson cracking the Boston Bruins during World War II in the 1944-45 season and he’d spend eight seasons in Beantown and would even get a chance to play against his uncle in his career (Roy was less than 10 years older than his nephew).

Charlie’s first son to play pro hockey, Pete, would enter the league in the 1948-49 season and would get a chance to actually play WITH his uncle on the Chicago Blackhawks! Pete’s NHL days would see him play in Chicago, New York and Toronto before spending the last seven years of his career in the mid sixties with the Buffalo Bisons and the Rochester Americans in the AHL.

Charlie’s other son to play hockey at a high level Brian, would make his debut with the Leafs in the 1961-62 season and would also be a part of Canada’s Olympic Hockey team in 1964. Brian would only play five seasons in the NHL but there’s also an Oilers connection with Brian as he their general manager for the 1977-78 WHA season.

The Conacher name for active players went dormant for a few decades until the arrival of Cory Conacher in the league during the lockout shortened 2012-13 season. Conacher, who is a distant cousin to Roy, Lionel and Charlie,  broke in with the Tampa Bay Lightning was in consideration for the Calder. Had he won, he would have been the first ever Calder winner to be traded in his rookie season as he ended his first year with the Ottawa Senators in a deal that saw Ben Bishop going to Tampa.

After his rookie season having an impact in the league became an issue for Conacher as he bounced around the NHL, AHL and Europe before finding his way back to his original NHL team this season, first with their farm club in Syracuse and now he’s back up with the big club.

To many, family is everything and in the fabric of the NHL, family has shaped the league in some pretty cool ways.