FREE: Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story Vudu Digital Code

Mr. Hockey is a production for The Hallmark Channel, which first aired the film in Canada on April 28, 2013, with a U.S. broadcast premiere the following week on May 4. With necessary concessions both for dramatic purposes and for Hallmark's family-friendly programming (never were rinks and locker rooms such curse-free zones), the film tells the true store of how legendary player Gordie Howe, so thoroughly identified with the sport that he and his wife, Colleen, became universally known as Mr. and Mrs. Hockey, retired from the National Hockey League (or "NHL") in 1972 after twenty-five years of professional competition, all of it with the Detroit Red Wings—but then shocked the world by coming out of retirement after two years. He continued playing until 1980, when he retired again at the age of 52. (Although it isn't covered in the film, Howe again came out of retirement briefly at the age of 69 so that he could play one shift with the Detroit Vipers in 1997 and be able to say he played professional hockey in six different decades.)

With a script by Malcolm MacRury (who has written for Deadwood and Earth: Final Conflict, among others) and direction by Andy Mikita (a producer and director for the multiple Stargate TV series), Mr. Hockey is more of a family drama than a sports movie. Hockey fans may be disappointed that there isn't more footage showing competition on the ice, but the film focuses primarily on the Howe family, which was both a major factor in, and was significantly altered by, Gordie Howe's decision to resume his professional career. The film is dedicated to Colleen Howe, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 76, and who is depicted as being every bit her husband's match in toughness and endurance.