Gordie Howe — Mr. Hockey — suffered a serious stroke Sunday in Texas.

“I feel like this is his final lap around the rink,” Murray Howe, one of Gordie’s three sons, said Tuesday night. “I’m guessing that he’s not going to recover . . . but then again, he’s about as strong as they get. If anybody can do it he can.”

The 86-year-old Hockey Hall of Famer from Saskatchewan has lost some function of his right arm and right leg and has difficulty speaking, his daughter Cathy said.

“We’ll just see what each day brings,” she said. “He’s tough. He’s not giving up.”

Howe has been staying in Lubbock with his daughter, Cathy. His sons Mark, Marty and Murray all spent Tuesday en route to join their sister.

“He had a bad stroke a couple of days ago, and I tried to do some FaceTime with him, and he looked really bad yesterday,” Mark Howe said Tuesday evening during a layover in Denver.

“He’s pretty well immobile. It’s not good, but at least my daughter spoke to him today, and said she understood a couple of words, which is very encouraging.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed, If anybody can recover, I know Dad can.”

Howe’s daughter said his speech is slurred, but he’s been looking at family pictures and pictures from his playing days, and he’s able to recognize and identify people he played with.

Murray said last year his father was still strong but was struggling a bit with short-term memory loss. The senior Howe also suffers from a form of dementia. This year, around the end of August, he underwent a procedure to help with back trouble. That operation helped significantly.

“He ended up getting what’s called a minimally invasive lumbar decompression,” Murray Howe said. “He was doing great for a while.”

RELATED:

A hockey legends Q and A: Gordie Howe answers Wayne Gretzky’s questions

In September, Mark Howe revealed to the Detroit Free Press that Gordie had had a very bad summer, one punctuated by mini strokes.

“The doctor said those mini strokes would gradually get worse and worse,” Mark said. “With the type of dementia he has, the long-term outlook is not good. Dad was with me most of summer, and he had a very difficult summer. He had surgery, and that got rid of some of the pain. But he had small strokes, and we were told there were ultimately going to be bigger and bigger ones. That was predicted six months ago. And that’s been the case.

“I told my kids earlier this summer, my dad’s health not what it should be. That’s why my daughter went to Lubbock on Saturday, brought her little one-year-old. They had a wonderful day, went for a long walk with dad.

“Sunday morning, he had the stroke.”

Howe played 25 seasons with the Red Wings from 1946 to 1971, won the Stanley Cup four times, the Hart Trophy six times and the Art Ross Trophy six times as leading scorer in the NHL. He played also in the rival World Hockey Association for Houston and New England, and played professionally at the age of 51 when the Whalers joined the NHL in a 1979-80 merger.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

He is the patriarch of hockey’s first family, having played on the same line with his sons Mark and Marty. Mark Howe later converted to defence and is also in the Hall of Fame.

His late wife, Colleen, who did much to manage her husband and sons’ hockey careers, died in 2009.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was among the many well-wishers for Howe.

“Wishing my friend Gordie Howe all the best, you’re in all of our thoughts and prayers,” the prime minister tweeted Tuesday.

With files from Star wire services

Read more about: