RIP Bob Probert

May he rest in peace.

while of course the Probert-Domi fights were THE biggest thing during the time they happened, and were classic moments in Rangers lore, a moment i’ll always remember was when the Rangers traded for Joey Kocur and the day came when Probert and Kocur had their first fight against each other in a real game. These two longtime teammates and friends had that mutual respect moment, then they did what they had to do.
I have a special appreciation for the enforcers and their roles on their teams, they USED to be so very important to their teams’ success and the morale of their teams as well. Probert was one of the very best, and he could actually play hockey too. These days, enforcers are not given the chance to play, they are only given a few shifts a game and their presence is no longer considered important by the people who coach in the NHL, so no enforcer will ever get the chance to reach the offensive numbers that Probert reached. In my view this is in part due to the fantasy-owner mentality that the post-lockout NHL has taken on.
Sad to hear of his passing …. the memories of him will carry on.

As we all know, this has failed epically and has lead to the rise of players like Carcillo, Downie, and Cooke, to name a few.

Gotta disagree here, these types of players have always been around. Bobby Clarke, while more skilled than those named above, was very much in their mold. Since he was surrounded by goons, he was allowed to be the chippy bastard he was. Ken Linseman was another chippy dirtbag, who is more in line with the player named above. The list could go on much further.

The NHL crackdown on fighting and retaliation as the cause of players like Carcillo, Cooke, etc. is one of my greatest pet peeves about fans today. The notion that getting rid of the instigator penalty is some panacea is laughable. The penalty isn’t even called frequently, certainly not according to the rule. I mean, every time a fight breaks out after a clean hit, the player starting the fight should be given an instigator, but that rarely happens.

Or the argument, can you imagine if Matt Cooke played in the 80s, he’d be killed. Well…not really, again see Ken Linseman. Linseman was just as dirty, if not more, than the players today. The lack of an instigator rule did not deter him. Again, when you have to play a certain style to stay in the NHL, you’re going to play that style regardless of the rules in place.

This post should probably be edited to clarify that he was not killed in a “boating accident;” he collapsed shortly after experiencing chest pains and died at the hospital later. The boat really has nothing to do with anything.

he has a massive heart attack was the first report out of tsn canada big willie huber same thing walked his dogs came back home and boom never woke up from his nap 2 great players for there time and era. the n.h.l. wii sadly miss both of them god bless big willie huber and big bad bob probert .