It wasn’t many who had the guts or the muscles to fight Bob Probert. Known as one of the toughest enforcers in NHL history, Probert was a nightmare to go up against, and he was known for getting stronger the longer a fight went on.
Probert is the archetype of what an enforcer should be, and it earned him the respect of teammates, coaches, opponents, and fans.
Probert fought a lot during his days in the league, and you almost always felt bad for the person he was up again. It wasn’t often Probie lost a fight, but even when he did, he never let his opponent walk away without a mark.
Every player that got into a fight with Probert remembers it for the rest of their lives, and that’s the case for Troy Crowder. He was an enforcer who played seven seasons in the NHL, with the Devils, Red Wings, Kings, and Canucks.
He only played for 150 games but compiled 433 career penalty minutes. Speaking on the podcast ”The Suspendables,” Crowder shares an awesome story on one of his fights with the legendary Bob Probert.
”He ran our goalie behind the net, and so I was like, ’Well, I guess I got to take care of this,’” he said.
”Whoever was on the ice, I told them to come off, and we hooked up in the corner, and we fought from one hash mark to the other, to the other corner. It was toe-for-toe, throwing haymakers, pulling, and pushing. Probie was a guy that got stronger as the fight got longer. He’s always trying to get out of his jersey. I’m just trying to keep him in his jersey, trying to get punches at him. It’s a whole mind thing when you’re fighting him.
”Well, finally, I flip him and get on top of him. He was lying on the ice, his jersey was up to his chest, his belly was exposed, and he looked up at me.
”I missed almost three-four years with a back injury, and then he got traded to Chicago, so we hadn’t played each other for years. So he looks up at me, and he says, ’Good to have you back, Crowds!’”
