How we'll remember ex-Red Wing and Chicago Blackhawk Bob Probert. May he RIP...
Bob Probert dukes it out with Stu Grimson in '91.
Who: Bob Probert, Red Wings' All-Star forward and enforcer (1985-94) who died Monday at 45.
Born: June 5, 1965, in Windsor, Ontario.
On the ice: Left winger shot left and stood 6-feet-3, 225 pounds, wearing No. 24.
Acquired: Drafted by the Wings in the third round (46th overall) in 1983.
Best year: A rare combination of toughness and skill earned him a berth in the 1988 All-Star Game; he had 29 goals among 62 points with 398 penalty minutes -- and 23 fights. No player had scored 30 goals with 400 penalty minutes.
OVERALL ...
Notched 384 points (163 goals, 221 assists) in 935 career regular-season games in 16 seasons with Detroit and Chicago. His 3,300 career penalty minutes rank fifth in NHL history.
ON THE ICE ...
He was the NHL's reigning heavyweight champion for most of his career.
OFF THE ICE ...
He had troubles galore, punctuated by ongoing alcohol issues and his 1989 arrest on the American side of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. A strip search revealed cocaine in his underwear. He served three months in a federal prison, three months in a halfway house and a year's suspension by the NHL.
END OF THE LINE ...
He was released by the Wings following the 1993-94 season, after being cited in two traffic mishaps -- a motorcycle accident and driving without his license.
THEN WHAT ...
Probert played seven seasons for the Blackhawks, scoring more than 23 points only once (40 in 1995-96), before retiring in 2002. He tore a rotator cuff in 1997-98.
POLICE ACTION ...
Probert scuffled with police in Delray Beach, Fla, in 2004 and was subdued with Taser and stun guns (later acquitted of charges). In 2005, he was arrested at his Windsor-area home for various offenses, including resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer (charges were later dropped). He was arrested again a month later in Tecumseh for probation violations.
SINCE THEN ...
In 2009, he appeared on "Battle of the Blades," a Canadian reality show featuring figure skaters paired with hockey players. The Blackhawks honored him with a Bob Probert Heritage Night on Feb. 22, 2009, at the United Center, and he dropped the ceremonial puck before Game 3 of the 2009 Western Conference finals between Detroit and Chicago.
Ups and downs
• In 1988, Probert broke Gordie Howe's then-Wings record (20) for playoff points in a season with 21.
• Assisted on a goal by Wayne Gretzky in the 1988 All-Star Game.
• On the eve of Game 5 of the 1988 Campbell Conference final in Edmonton, he was among several Wings who broke curfew in a bar called Goose Loonies.
Famous fights
• 1990-91: Fought 17 times, including three times against fellow heavyweight Troy Crowder and once against Stu Grimson.
• 1992: Fought a couple of instant-legend battles against Rangers enforcer Tie Domi. After the February one, as Domi was led to the box, he made a gesture as if he were putting on a boxing championship belt. Following their fight in November -- a TKO by Probert -- Steve Yzerman taunted Domi with a similar gesture from the Wings' bench.
• 1993: Fought former teammate and Bruise Brother Joe Kocur, then with the Rangers, in a multi-player brawl.
• 1994: Fought a 100-second battle against Pittsburgh tough guy Marty McSorley.
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