Top Five Enforcers in Red Wings' History

A look at the five toughest enforcers in Detroit Red Wing history, featuring Bob Probert, Gordie Howe, Darren McCarty, Joey Kocur, and Ted Lindsey

The Detroit Red Wings have a long and proud history of fighters. When you look back at the greatest Red Wing teams of all-time, a common link seems to be supreme skill layered ahead of formidable brawn. The first dynastic Red Wings of the late 40s and 50s combined those elements into the same packages; the skill guys were the tough guys, and they (namely Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsey) were the best players in the league. By the next dynasty in the 90s, Detroit had Bob Probert, Joey Kocur, and Darren McCarty providing the muscle to supplement Steve Yzerman and the Russian Five’s scoring prowess. By the Wings’ most recent Cup in ’08, the league was moving slowly but surely away from the era when a fighter or two was an essential component to any serious bottom six, but McCarty was still around to lend Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, and Nicklas Lidstrom some extra security.

Note: All listed stats are for each player’s time with the Red Wings unless otherwise specified. Fight totals courtesy of HockeyFights.com.

474 Games Played, 2090 PIMs, 136 fights

Bob Probert is the NHL’s ultimate heavyweight champion and the undisputed greatest enforcer in Detroit Red Wing history. He played in a veritable golden age of fighters, and amongst that company, he stood alone. He described his fighting style as follows in his autobiography Tough Guy: “The thing I liked to do was just grab a guy by the sweater or shoulder pads and hold him straight out. Then I’d pull my head back so he couldn’t hit me. Next, I’d throw a punch. He couldn’t reach me…but I could connect.” Where others tired over the course of a fight, Probert developed a reputation for getting stronger. Unfortunately, Probert is also the NHL’s ultimate tragic hero—plagued throughout his life by addiction and resulting legal trouble. The combination of substance abuse and head trauma meant he died at just 45 in 2010. In eulogizing him, teammate Steve Yzerman (a fellow member of the Wings’ 1983 Draft Class) described Probert as possessing “fists of stone” and “a kind heart and gentle soul.” For more on Probert’s legacy, look out for an essay from THN-Detroit later this week.

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1687 GP, 1643 PIMs

Despite lending his name to the Gordie Howe hat trick (a goal, an assist, and a fight), Howe only fought 22 times over his long and illustrious NHL career. However, despite a lack of fighting majors, there can be no doubt of his status as an enforcer; the only difference was that Howe administered justice with his stick and his elbows more than his fists. At the time of his retirement, Howe had the most goals in NHL history (802), and, despite retiring at the ripe age of 52, he remained among the most feared players in the league throughout his career. There will never be an offensive superstar of Howe’s acumen who plays with “Mr. Hockey”’s brutality.

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659 GP, 1302 PIMs, 116 fights

Darren McCarty won four Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings over 13 seasons (with a brief sojourn to Calgary breaking them up), but he is best and most fondly remembered for something different. On March 26, 1997, McCarty exacted vengeance on Avalanche forward Claude Lemieux for Lemieux’s dirty hit on Kris Draper in the ’96 playoffs. After an unlikely skirmish between Igor Larionov and Peter Forsberg, McCarty cold-cocked Lemieux and didn’t relent as Lemieux turtled to the ice. It was the start of what would become known as “Fight Night at the Joe” and solidified the late 90s and early aughts’ definitive NHL rivalry. McCarty, who by most accounts should’ve been tossed from the game, scored the overtime winner. Stanley Cups be damned, it was enough to solidify him forever as a Red Wing legend in the hearts and minds of the Hockeytown faithful.

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535 GP, 1963 PIMs, 165 fights

As a pure fighter, Kocur may be the only man on this list who could rival Probert. He and Probert became known as the Bruise Brothers for the rugged justice they ladled out at rinks across the National Hockey League during their days as teammates in Detroit. Kocur became legendary for his heavy right hand, and perhaps his greatest legacy is cracking the helmet of his fearsome contemporary Donald Brashear with one such right.

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862 GP, 1422 PIMs

“Terrible” Ted Lindsey, like his “Production Line” running mate Howe, was an offensive star who served as his own enforcer. His rambunctious style of play is rumored the reason the NHL felt it necessary to add the elbowing and kneeing penalties to the rule book. The paradigmatic example of the unusual blend of brutalism and respect that seems to typify the NHL enforcer comes from a brawl against Boston in 1951. Lindsey knocked Bill Ezinicki out but didn’t stop swinging until Howe restrained him. After the game, he checked in on his erstwhile combatant in the medic’s room with a warm greeting.  

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