There’s been an official scoring change on a goal scored by the greatest Detroit Red Wings player of them all. And the change is coming more than 45 years after he made the tally.

On April 9, 1980, in Game 2 of an opening-round playoff series between the Montreal Canadiens and Hartford Whalers, Hartford’s Gordie Howe would score the final goal of his 26-season NHL career. It was the last goal in Hartford’s 8-4 loss to the Canadiens during Game 2 of the best-of-five series.

The original scoring play was credited as Gordie Howe from Mark Howe. For decades, though, John Garrett, the Whalers goalie that night, was using his pulpit as an NHL broadcaster to proclaim that he’d been robbed of an assist on that goal.

Watching the video replay of the goal, it’s incredible to think that officials would’ve missed Garrett’s role in the scoring play. He starts out the sequence, rimming the puck around the boards from behind his net to Mark Howe.

One Red Wings Icon Describing Another’s Goal

Mark Howe then carries the puck into the Canadiens zone. Flipping a pass across to his dad, Gordie unleashes a lethal backhand shot through traffic and beats Montreal goalie Denis Herron. That it’s Danny Gallivan on the goal call – with two-time Red Wings 50-goal scorer Mickey Redmond working as his analyst – only adds to the lore of the tally.

Originally, Garrett wasn’t making an issue of his exclusion. Considering he was giving up eight goals in the loss, in his mind to be later lobbying for an assist would’ve been screaming of pettiness.

Later, taking into account the historic significance of the goal, he would begin a campaign seeking recognition for his role in the play.

“That’s a hard pass,” Garrett said during a 2023 segment on Hockey Night In Canada’s After Hours. “Mark takes it, Mark gives it to Gordie, Gordie scores this beautiful goal. How can I not get an assist on that? I phoned Benny Ercolani — he’s now retired, but Benny was the statistician for the league.”

John Garrett gets the assist he always deserved. You love to see it.

— Dave Hall (@davehall1289) June 7, 2025

After years of his pleas apparently falling on deaf ears, suddenly there was news. It came during the second intermission segment of Game 2 of this spring’s Stanley Cup final series. HNIC host Ron MacLean was revealing that the NHL is making the scoring change. Garrett is getting his assist.

“They are adding one to the record books, and this is a beauty,” MacLean explained.

“John Garrett was denied official status for this assist. He moves the puck. In the record books, it just has Howe from Mark. It did not feature (Garrett’s) assist. It will, forevermore.”