Sad news tonight that legendary hockey toughman Bob Probert is dead at 45. Probert was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He played for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks. While a successful player by some measures, including being voted to the 1987–88 Campbell Conference all-star team, Probert was best known for his activities as a fighter and enforcer. Probert was also known for his off-ice antics and legal problems, as well as being one half of the “Bruise Brothers” with then-Red Wing teammate Joe “Joey” Kocur, during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
During the 1985–86 and 1986–87 seasons, Probert spent the majority of his time with the Red Wings while occasionally playing for their minor league affiliate, the Adirondack Red Wings of the American Hockey League. In the 1985–86 season, he finished third on the team in penalty minutes behind Kocur and Randy Ladouceur, both of whom played more regular season games than Probert. In the 1986–87 season, Probert accumulated only 24 points, but amassed 221 penalty minutes.
The 1987–88 season saw Probert develop his fighting abilities and reputation as a enforcer with 398 penalty minutes. He also tied for third on the team in points with 62 (Petr Klima also had 62 points). That season, Probert played in his only NHL All-Star Game, and he contributed the most points during the Red Wings’ playoff run, in which Yzerman missed all but the final three games with a knee injury.
His career hit a snag in 1989 when he was arrested for cocaine possession while crossing the Detroit-Windsor border. He served three months in a federal prison in Minnesota, an additional three months in a halfway house, and was indefinitely suspended from the NHL. The NHL lifted the suspension at the conclusion of his prison term.
Trouble would continue for Probert in the 1990′s. On July 15, 1994, he suffered minor injuries when he crashed his motorcycle into a car in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan. Police determined that his blood alcohol level was approximately triple the legal limit, and that there were also trace amounts of cocaine in his system. At the time of the accident, Probert had been ruled an unrestricted free agent. On July 19 of that year, the Red Wings announced that they would not offer him a contract. “This is the end,” said senior vice-president Jim Devellano. “[In] my 12 years with the organization … we’ve never spent more time on one player and his problems than we have on Probert.”
Probert went on to play for the Chicago Blackhawks, while his first season with the Blackhawks was the last in which he accumulated over 40 points in a season. From then on, his points and penalty minutes gradually decreased. While he never returned to the levels of point production he achieved with the Red Wings, he remained a physical force on the ice and continued many long-term rivalries with other enforcers.
Probert sustained various injuries during his time with Chicago, most notably a torn rotator cuff injury which caused him to miss most of the 1997–98 season. One of the more noteworthy occurrences of his career with Chicago is that he scored the final NHL goal at the historic Maple Leaf Gardens on February 13, 1999.
After the 2001–02 season, Probert was placed on waivers by the Blackhawks. Because he was not picked up by another team, he was advised that his role with the Blackhawks would be limited, or even relegated to playing in the minor leagues again. On November 16, 2002, Probert opted to “unofficially” retire so that he could join the Blackhawks radio broadcasting team. He had finished fourth on the NHL’s all-time list with 3,300 penalty minutes.
His stint with the Blackhawks radio team did not last long. In February 2003, it was reported that Probert went back to rehab. During the 2002–03 offseason, Probert formally announced his retirement.
On June 4, 2004, Probert was arrested for allegedly parking his BMW sport utility vehicle on the wrong side of the street and entering into an altercation over drugs with bystanders. Several police officers intervened and had to subdue Probert with taser and stun guns. He was later acquitted on all charges related to this incident.
On July 1, 2005, Probert was arrested at his Windsor-area home for breach of peace, resisting arrest, and assaulting a police officer. Probert’s attorney, Patrick Ducharme, advised the media, “I anticipate he will be pleading not guilty and going to trial.” Probert was arrested again on August 23, 2005, at a bar in Tecumseh, Ontario for violating two conditions of his probation that he not consume alcohol or be in an establishment that serves liquor. He was released after paying a $200 (Canadian) fine. All charges stemming from the arrest on July 1 were eventually dropped.
Hockey commentator Chris Johnston of the Canadian Press wrote tonight:
Bob Probert, who fought nearly as many personal demons as he did NHL tough guys during a 16-year career, died Monday. He was 45.
Probert was the most feared fighter of his generation, dropping the gloves more than 200 times while playing for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.
“I’ve seen them all and I haven’t seen anybody tougher than him,” TV commentator Don Cherry told The Canadian Press. “He was the best.”
“Off the ice, everything was a whole different story,” said Clark. “He was one of the good guys and he’d do anything for anybody.”
Added Cherry: “He was a gentle giant. He was so soft spoken when you’d sit down and chat with him. He would almost whisper.”
Probert played for the Red Wings from 1985 to ’94, and for the Blackhawks from 1995 to 2002.
Rest In Peace, Mr. Probert. You will be missed.
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