RIP Bob Probert

Real tough guy and a pretty good hockey player. Played hard, partied hard.
R.I.P Bob Probert.

 

Domi WAS a midget, except for his gigantic, Easter Island monument head.

Whoever compared Probert to John Kordic, that's kinda off the mark. They both fought a lot in the NHL and they're both dead, but Probert was a much more accomplished player.

 

I grew up in the old Norris Division and went to about 20 games a year when Probert was at his peak.

Probert was far, FAR more than a goon (and I wanted to see him get his a$$ kicked every time the Wings came to town). Decent skater, good passer and could bury the loose puck home.

Best of all, on those Detroit teams of the late 80s/early 90s, you watched two players: Yzerman and Probert.

Mitch Albom takes a lot of shots on here - many of them deserved - but his Freep column on Probert and his demons was outstanding.

 

That was me, and I don't think I was off the mark.

Kordic wasn't in Probert's class as a player, and I acknowledged that Probert was the more talented of the two. Although Kordic managed to win a Memorial Cup, a Calder Cup and a Stanley Cup during his career. But I digress.

Anyway, Probert, at his worst, was just as self-destructive as was Kordic. And now he's just as dead. That's the point I'm trying to make. Sorry if that offends anyone, but it's true.

 

I doubt Kordic was as integral a part of any of those teams as Probert was during his best days with the Wings. Think anybody even looked sideways at Yzerman when Probert was out there? I don't think Kordic ever had that kind of reputation.

RIP to the best hockey fighter of my lifetime and a damn good player who scored the last goal at Maple Leaf Gardens.

 

Here's the link to Albom's column. It's pretty damn goodl

http://www.freep.com/article/20100705/COL01/100705037/1354/SPORTS/Bob-Proberts-tough-story-ended-far-too-soon

 

That was a great story. Here's Steve Simmons on Probert:

http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/steve_simmons/2010/07/05/14619626.html

 

RIP, Probie.

No matter how much he screwed up, folks here in Detroit still loved him because he was the quintessential blue-collar guy from just across the river in Windsor. He seemed like he always bounced back from his screw-ups with an "aw, shucks" attitude.

He was way, way too young to go.

 

RIP to a guy who kicked ass.

 

I was just thumbing through some Probert photos at Freep.com and there was one from 2007 with Vladimir Konstantinov. Vlady is in a walker.... what progress that guy has made. I hope that drunk driver is still in jail somewhere.

 

I was curious, too. The Michigan Department of Corrections has no record of Richard Gnida, the drunken driver, on its offender information website (OTIS).

 

I hope he learned his lesson and emerged as a more productive member of society.