NHL team, and the first of three selected in the 1974 draft, the other two being his brother Marty, selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the third round, and Tom Edur of the Cleveland Crusaders, who was also selected by Boston. All three players opted to remain with their WHA teams after the draft. By the 1976–77 season, Howe was a full-time defenseman. Before the 1977–78 season, the Howes moved their family act to Hartford, Connecticut to play for the New England Whalers. When the NHL and WHA merged in 1979, one of the four WHA teams left standing were the Whalers, who changed their name to the Hartford Whalers. In the 1979 NHL Expansion Draft, the Boston Bruins, who held his NHL rights, attempted to reclaim Mark Howe; however, the Whalers used a priority selection to retain him. Due to a gentlemen's agreement between the Whalers and the Red Wings, Detroit opted not to exercise their right to reclaim Gordie Howe; the Wings also opted not to reclaim Marty, whose rights they had previously acquired from Montreal. As a result, Mark, his father and his brother were able to play one more season together with the Whalers, this time in the NHL. The 1980–81 season proved to be one of Howe's best. Howe was a mid-season All-Star, and in the fall, he appeared for the US national team at the 1981 Canada Cup tournament. Howe was involved in one of the more memorable injuries in NHL history. On December 27, 1980, he slid into the pointed metal center of the net and cut a five-inch gash in his rectal area. He was essentially impaled in an injury that nearly ended his career. Following a lawsuit by Howe, the NHL changed the design of its nets so that there would no longer be a center portion that jutted up toward the goal line. He lost 21 pounds and his stamina suffered after requiring liquid diet to avoid intestinal infections. After Whalers management lost faith in Howe, he requested a trade, and was moved in a four-player deal that also involved draft picks, to the Philadelphia Flyers. The backbone of one of the NHL's best defensive teams of the mid-1980s, Howe was a finalist for the Norris Trophy three times, those being in 1982–83, 1985–86 and 1986–87 season. His Philadelphia team, backstopped by Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Pelle Lindbergh, finished the 1984–85