The NHL lost one of its greatest players ever on Friday morning when Detroit Red Wings legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Gordie Howe passed away at the age of 88.

The hockey world has spent the more paying tribute to one of the game's biggest icons.

"Gordie's greatness travels far beyond mere statistics; it echoes in the words of veneration spoken by countless players who joined him in the Hockey Hall of Fame and considered him their hero," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.

"Gordie's toughness as a competitor on the ice was equaled by his humor and humility away from it. No sport could have hoped for a greater, more-beloved ambassador."

Here are a few more tributes from around the hockey and sports world on Friday morning remembering the life and career of Howe.

Pavel Datsyuk, one of the best Red Wings players of this current generation, shared this message on Friday morning.

The other professional sports teams in Detroit, including the Tigers and Lions, shared their own memories. The Tigers, who are also owned by Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch, shared this image of Howe dropping a ceremonial puck before the alumni game during the 2013 Winter Classic festivities in Detroit.

There is also this from the Lions.

The Montreal Canadiens shared this wonderful picture of Howe and Jean Beliveau, who passed away last year. Howe and Beliveau spent two decades competing against one another, mostly during the NHL's Original Six days, with the Red Wings and Canadiens combining to win 14 Stanley Cups between 1950 and 1971 (the span of Beliveau's career in the NHL).

The New Jersey Devils remembered Howe with this picture of Howe with Wayne Gretzky and Denis Potvin before the 1984 All-Star game held in New Jersey.

And speaking of Gretzky, the SI Vault has this amazing picture of Howe with a then 11-year-old Gretzky.

Gretzky would go on to break Howe's all-time records for goals and points in the NHL.

Perhaps the most stunning part of Howe's career is that he continued playing professionally into his 50s during a career that spanned five decades.

That includes a 41-point season in the NHL at the age of 51 during the 1979-80 season with the Hartford Whalers. The Whalers no longer exist after moving to Carolina in the 1990s, but he is still a part of the franchise history.

What sometimes gets forgotten about Howe's career is that he also played one shift at the age of 69 during the 1997-98 season for the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League.

And here he is before his NHL career even started, via Gary Sharp.

Four-time Stanley Cup champion Butch Goring had a chance to play against Howe in his first NHL game after watching him as a kid.

Howe was more than just a scorer during his career, and was known just as much for his toughness on the ice. From TSN's Bob McKenzie:

Montreal Gazette hockey columnist Dave Stubbs shared this picture of Howe and teammate Ted Lindsay working together in Lindsay's home workshop in 1951.

The two were teammates for 15 years with the Red Wings, playing in seven Stanley Cup Finals together and winning four of them.

Even though he never played for the team, Howe joined them for their 1983 celebrity softball game. That is him second from the right in the second row.

A couple of NHL players mentioned that Howe was the reason they wore No. 9, including fellow Hall of Famer Mike Modano.

Current New York Islanders forward Anders Lee shared a similar message.

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The sports world remembered the life and career of Gordie Howe on Friday. USATSI