A Detroit, Michigan native, Howe was considered one of the finest young players in the game, when at age 16, he was a key member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic Men's silver medal-winning hockey team at Sapporo, Japan.

Howe exploded onto the pro hockey scene in 1973-74 with 38 goals and 41 assists. He received the Lou Kaplan Award as WHA Rookie of the Year and was a key member of the Houston Aeros championship team in his first year. After playing with the Aeros, Howe went to the New England Whalers in 1978, where he delivered his best offensive season scoring 42 goals and adding 65 assists for 107 points. In 1979, the Whalers became known as the Hartford Whalers in the NHL and that season Howe was moved to defense where he would star in that position for many years. Howe played for the Hartford Whalers from 1979-82, where he holds the Whalers' record of points in 21 straight games.

In his 10 seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, from 1982-1992, Howe became the team's all-time leader among defensemen in goals (138), assists (342) and points (480). He holds the record for the second-highest scoring defenseman in professional hockey, with 1,246 points in 929 NHL games (197-545-742) and 426 WHA games (208-296-504). He was a three-time runner up for the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 1983, 1986, and 1987, which is presented annually to the NHL's best defensemen. In 1986, he was awarded the Emery Edge for the best plus/minus in the league. A three-time First-Team All Star in 1983, 1986, and 1987, Howe also played in four NHL All-Star Games in 1983, 1986, 1987 and 1988. Howe played in three Stanley Cup Finals in 1985, 1987, and 1995 and as a member of the WHA's Houston Aeros, he was instrumental in helping the team win two Avco Cups in 1974 and 1975.

At the end of his hockey career, Howe signed with the Detroit Red Wings in 1992 and retired from the game in 1995. In 2001, Howe was inducted into the Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame.