With Bob Probert out there wanting to be wanted, the Blackhawks have nothing to fear but his winding up in another uniform.
There will be plenty of room for Probert and all his excess baggage at the new United Center. He needs a change of scenery as much as the Hawks need a change of personality, so if Probert is going to continue to create havoc, why not Chicago?
Probert, a 29-year-old left wing released recently by the Detroit Red Wings, appears regularly on the National Hockey League’s police blotter. He is a notorious heavyweight who, like Mike Tyson, is safest when in uniform.
Off the ice, Probert has fought alcohol and drugs and lost too often. He is an accident waiting to happen and, in fact, just had another one the other day on his motorcycle. He escaped with minor injuries, but even had he broken both legs, he could still skate with the Sutters.
More importantly, if Probert practices the type of commitment Detroit claims he lacked, the Hawks might discover some of the courage they have lacked in recent seasons. One Probert on the roster tends to enhance communal bravery.
Chris Chelios, the Hawks’ ornery All-Star defenseman, said it all last year when he said his team talks a tougher game than it plays. Chelios was right on, even if he was telling the rest of the league nothing it didn’t already know.
When Neil Wilkinson was assaulted brutally by Tony Granato of the Kings in Los Angeles, fellow Hawks stood there, horrified. Mostly, they just stood there. Granted, Granato was banished from the rink almost immediately, but the Hawks had two weeks to think about returning some of the punishment dealt them by Toronto during the playoffs, and the Maple Leafs haven’t been bumped yet. Not the way they abused Jeremy Roenick, anyway.
Once upon a time, the Stadium was an intimidating building for visiting clubs. But last winter, even with hockey’s best fans creating a loud and emotional sendoff for the ancient arena, the Hawks won only half their 42 home games. The customers remembered the roar, but their team forgot how to score. The Hawks were shut out in three of six games against Toronto, including the clincher here.
Probert might bag a few goals-his career high is 29 in 1987-88-but his real value would be his presence. The Hawks still haven’t replaced Dave Manson, a talented defenseman whose glazed look kept opponents wondering, or Stu Grimson, who would intervene whenever a foe took indecent liberties with a teammate. Cam Russell could be the guy, but Probert is already there.
Roenick is the feistiest Hawk this side of Ed Belfour, but if Roenick continues to hit and be hit while carrying the offense, he might wind up at 98 pounds and being carried out of the United Center in a body bag. The Hawks look good at the beach, but for all their physical fitness, they are a tad soft in the spine. And too many of them handle the puck like it’s a medicine ball.
Besides creating more elbow room for scorers, wherever they are, Probert could increase the Hawks’ pulse rate. A little lunacy can go a long way, and, by all accounts, Probert isn’t trouble to anybody else but himself. He and his agent have to know that Probert’s next contract, wherever it is, will contain numerous conditional clauses for behavior. He’ll be watched closely and tested often.
But Probert, who met with the Hawks last week, is eager to turn the page and start over in Chicago. It’s a gamble, and all it will cost is money. The Hawks have enough choirboys, and if they don’t try him, rest assured he will be pursued by a division rival, the St. Louis Blues.
Mike Keenan, the loyal and faithful coach of the Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers, has moved on, too. If Keenan is still working in St. Louis by October, he might sign Probert just as protection for when the Blues make their first trip to Madison Square Garden.