The post Is This Former Red Wings Player a Hall of Famer? appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.
Bob Probert
Is former Detroit Red Wings tough guy Bob Probert worthy of Hall of Fame status? Another former Red Wings player who is already a Hall of Famer is speaking out about this issue.
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Brett Hull, who won a Stanley Cup in Detroit in 2001-02, was talking about Probert and the Hall of Fame on the Ice Guardians podcast. Never one to shy away from making a point, Hull definitely holds a strong opinion on this matter.
Hull’s viewpoint is simple. Probert is most definitely a Hall of Famer.
“I’ve said it for years now that there needs to be [enforcers in the Hall of Fame], and we decided that Bob Probert should be the first guy kind of in that niche or category,” Hull said. “He’d be the guy to me that you would put in the Hall of Fame if you’re gonna go enforcer type guy.
“I think Probie would be your inaugural guy.”
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Probert Put Up Numbers For Red Wings
Certainly, Probert was an elite enforcer. He was arguably the most feared fighter of his era.
His seminal season came in 1987-88. Skating on Detroit’s top forward line alongside captain Steve Yzerman, Probert would assemble 29 goals and 62 points. He’d accumulate an NHL-leading and club record 398 penalty minutes.
Probert was selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game that season. During the playoffs, he set another club standard, collecting 21 points.
Appearing on Hull’s podcast, former Red Wings tough guy Stu Grimson also threw his backing behind the Probie for the Hall of Fame campaign.
“In terms of the ability to play, he was never less than a third-line player,” Grimson said. “He was a top-six guy much of his career, and nobody wanted to fight him.
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“You don’t find that skill set, that package in just any player.”
Shouldn’t Fergie Go In Ahead Of Probie?
There appear to be two significant issues in discussing Probert and the Hall of Fame. First of all, is this something that the NHL even wants to acknowledge?
As much as there’s a constituency of hockey people who feel fighting is integral to the fabric of the game, an equal number of those in the game view the fisticuffs as a black mark on the league’s ledger, an element of almost cartoonish buffoonery.
The other fly in the ointment is John Ferguson. There’s been a campaign for years to get the legendary Montreal Canadiens tough guy enshrined in the Hall.
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Along with terrorizing the NHL, Ferguson was a two-time 20-goal scorer and a five-time Stanley Cup champion.
Then again, Toronto Maple Leafs fans might ask what all the fuss is about. They’d argue that Red Horner, the NHL’s first true enforcer, is already inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The Leafs defenseman led the NHL in penalty minutes seven times during his 12-season career. Horner was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1965.
The post Is This Former Red Wings Player a Hall of Famer? appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.