The King Returns 03.22.90 – 03.27.90

Many years ago, I was waiting between classes and happen to overhear a conversation between a couple of students talking about a game that involved the Detroit Red Wings. While most was inaudible, I remember Bob Probert’s name being brought up. Obviously, I knew who Probie was, I had been a long time Red Wing fan. My ears perked to the mention of my favorite Red Wing. What stands out, from this 25+ year old memory, was when one of the students referred to him as “The King”. Now, I’m sure he wasn’t the first to use this label, but it was the first time I had heard it used to describe the man. Oh sure, he’d been called the ‘heavyweight champ’, ‘toughest guy in the league’, and titles like that were always thrown around when Bobby dropped the gloves. It was “The King” though, that always stuck with me for some reason. Maybe it was because it was the one moniker I hadn’t heard used before, but the one that seemed to fit him best.

One of the most painful times for me, being a Red Wing fan, wasn’t the dismal 1985-86 season (hey, at least they fought a lot), it was the year Bob Probert wasn’t able to play. For me, it seemed like his return may never happen due to league suspension, legal sentencing, & his imprisonment. Sure, the Red Wings had added other players who were tough but losing Probie for that amount of time was truly a rough time for this particular fan. The big man seemed to be coming into his own as a player who could truly be defined as a game changer. A special player who could not only stand up to the heaviest of heavyweights, but one who had also shown the potential to be a 20-goal man, was someone who could create room for his line-mates, while adding leadership across the board. He was a throwback to players like Clark Gillies, Terry O’Reilly, Tiger Williams, and others who had shown a scoring touch, and a heavy hand when it came to dropping the gloves.

By the end of March, during the 1989-90 season, the Red Wings were in a battle to grab the last playoff spot in the old Norris Division. It was going to take a real push to catch Minnesota who were 3 points in front, with only 5 games left in the season. There was already a buzz in the papers, and on the broadcasts, that Probie would return to play in these last few games, in the hopes to push the Wings into the post season.

To give a little background, we wanted to start by posting this article, penned by former Red Wing reporter Keith Gave of the Detroit Free Press, and published by The Hockey News. It outlines Bob’s past transgressions, and the price he paid, prior to being reinstated by the NHL in late March of 1990.

The article is dated March 23, 1990, and Bob had only played 1 game since his return. He made an immediate impact, playing minimally, yet scoring the lone Red Wing goal, in a 5-1 loss to the Minnesota North Stars. He would play in 3 more games, and while he contributed in every way he could, the underachieving Red Wings would still miss the playoffs. We compiled some of the highlights from that four game stretch in the videos below.

The first video is a culmination of his 2^nd & 3^rd games played that year. March 24^th & 25^th was a big home and home against the Norris Division leading Chicago Blackhawks, and as mentioned, the Wings were still trying to grab the last playoff spot. The video begins with Bob’s first shift back home in Detroit. You can hear the ovation immediately as he skates onto the ice for his first shift in front of the Red Wing faithful. You can also hear fans yelling out “Probie!”, and support for one of the most popular Red Wings of all time. The next part of the video is his 2nd goal of the year from that same game, in Detroit, which was also the game winner. It also served as the Kowalski Kowality Moment on the PASS post game show. The final clip of the video is Bob’s 3^rd goal in as many games, this time at Chicago, on March 25^th.

This second video includes the 3 fights he registered during the four-game comeback. First, was against Bob McGill in Detroit, then he takes on the other two Blackhawk heavyweights, Wayne Van Dorp, & Dave Manson, both in the first period, from the March 25^th game in Chicago. For a guy who was all but out of hockey, he showed incredible endurance, and didn’t appear to lose a step here either.

Bob would play a total of 4 games in his short return, finishing the season with a line that read: 4 Games played, 3 goals, 0 assists, & 21 penalty minutes. He even made the Cheers & Jeers section of The Hockey News.

Bob Probert would go on to score 16 goals the following season (39 pts, 315 pim), then 20 (44/276) & 14 (43/292) respectively in 91-92 & 92-93. Although he was never able to match the offensive output of the 1987-88 season (29 goals, 62 pts, 398 pim) which also saw him make the All Star team, it was an amazing comeback for a player like Bob Probert, with all the obstacles he had to go through, to be able to return to the NHL.

I remember watching the home & home with Chicago that weekend back in 1990. I remember being so excited that my favorite player was not only back in the league, but back on the ice, and appeared to be picking up right where he had left off about a year before. Looking back, on that day in between classes, which occurred after Bob’s return, so I had no reference to it at the time, it’s become obvious, that in those four games, that The King had indeed returned.

Article Courtesy of The Hockey News on Bob’s 4 game return:

Box Scores (Courtesy of The Hockey News):

Additional Media:

CHICAGO, IL – MARCH 25: Bob Probert #24 of the Detroit Red Wings fights with Wayne Van Dorp #23 of the Chicago Blackhawks during their game on March 25, 1990 at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by B Bennett/Getty Images)