In his heyday in the late '80s, Probert was known around the NHL as one of its top heavyweight fighters, and together with Joe Kocur, they were known as the Bruise Brothers.
What made Probert so special, though, was what else he could do: Skate, shoot, score in 87-88, he had 398 penalty minutes, but was also third on the team with 62 points.
After being selected by the Wings in the third round in the same draft that netted Steve Yzerman, Probert played for Detroit from 1985-86 to 93-94, when the team cut ties with him after numerous problems because of his drinking. Proberts career hit a low in 1989 when he was arrested for cocaine possession while crossing the Detroit-Windsor border, resulting in his being sent to federal prison.
In July 1994, he was in a motorcycle crash in West Bloomfield, and police determined he had both alcohol and trace amounts of cocaine in his system. That led the Wings to decide against offering a new contract to one of their most popular players.
We did everything, Devellano said. I dont think there was a player I ever worked harder on, tried harder on to get his off ice life turned around.
