Howell joined the New York Rangers in 1952. In 1955 he was named captain, but gave up that position after two seasons, as he felt he played poorly those years.[2]
A stalwart, stay-at-home defenceman, in 1967 Howell was the last player in the pre-expansion era to win the Norris Trophy,[3] and famously said that he was glad he won the trophy then because Boston Bruins rookie Bobby Orr (who finished third that year) would "own this trophy from now on"; Orr would win the trophy for the next eight seasons.[4] Howell's playing weight was 195 and he stood 6 foot 1 inches tall. He played seventeen years wearing number 3 for the Rangers.[5]
Howell first moved into team management while still a player. After seven games with the New York Golden Blades, on November 21, 1973, Howell was elevated to player-coach when the team was moved and became the Jersey Knights for the remainder of the season.[8] At the end of that season, the Knights moved and became the San Diego Mariners, with Howell still performing double duty as player-coach. Howell was strictly a player during his season with the Calgary Cowboys.
Howell played 1,411 NHL games and 170 WHA games, scoring 101 goals and 360 assists for 461 points.[9]
He was named a First Team All-Star in 1967, and played in All-Star Games in 1954, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968 and 1970.
When he left the NHL, Howell had played more games as a defenseman than anyone else, and remains sixth in all-time games played as a defenseman. He also holds the record for most games played for the New York Rangers: 1,160.[10]
In 1990, he won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Edmonton Oilers where he served as a scout.[12] In 2000 he re-joined the Rangers as a scout and worked in that role until retiring in 2004.[13]
Howell's #3, along with Andy Bathgate's #9, was retired by the New York Rangers on February 22, 2009.[14][15]
In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, the authors ranked Howell at No. 10 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.[16]
