One of the most sacred positions in all of hockey is also the most dangerous—and with Wednesday's news, the days of the enforcer may be numbered.
Bob Probert was one of the greatest hockey enforcers of his time. According to Hockeyfights.com, from 1985 to his retirement in 2002, Probert amassed 413 regular season fighting majors. In 1987, Probert lead the entire league in penalty minutes with 398 to go along with 23 fighting majors.
Probert once got into a full-on phone booth scrap with fellow enforcer Marty McSorely—a scrap that lasted 100 total seconds. Both heavyweight enforcers combined for nearly 80 punches thrown and in the end, McSorley lost his jersey, his pads and even his shirt.
These were the kind of scraps that hockey fans both loved and loathed. Loved because they got the fans and players into the game—but loathed because fights often were overblown or seemed to break the flow of a game.
Fights in hockey are part of the game. For many, a solid hockey scrap is enough to get the juices flowing and, at times, can turn the tide of a game.
A dead weight crowd will stand and applaud an al ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Orly Rios Jr.
Bob Probert Revelation May Change Fighting in the NHL Forever
March 4th, 2011 by Orly Rios Jr. Leave a reply »
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