The Detroit Red Wings played their final game at Joe Louis Arena on Sunday, closing out the legendary arena with a victory over the New Jersey Devils.
Dozens of legendary former players and coaches were there to see the old barn off in style, from Hall of Famers like Steve Yzerman and Scotty Bowman to franchise favorites like Darren McCarty and Tomas Holmstrom. But it wasn’t just about those in attendance; it was also about the legends that are no longer with us, who thrilled fans inside the Joe during the NHL careers.
Legends like Bob Probert, who died at 45 years old in 2010 after a heart attack.
He played 474 games with the Red Wings over nine years, but the number the fans most remember him for is 2,090 – the penalty minutes he earned in Detroit during his time as the NHL’s heavyweight fighting champion, part of his 3,300 PIMs during his career.
Probert spent many of those minutes wiping blood off his knuckles in the penalty box at Joe Louis Arena.
On Sunday, his widow brought him back there, one last time.
Dani Probert was wearing a locket with her late husband’s ashes inside of it. In a spur-of-the-moment decision, she decided to spread those ashes inside the penalty box.
“Had no plans whatsoever of sprinkling his ashes anywhere, I just hadn’t been able to let that part of him go and it was the emotions and being with my hockey family and sitting next to [Chris Chelios],” said Dani Probert to AM 800.
“It was incredibly emotional and it just seems so fitting, it was the perfect time.”
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