Shocker

Bob Probert... Number 24... retired Red Wings tough guy and one of the NHL's all time great enforcers... dead at 45.  From the Detroit Free Press:

The news of Probert’s passing was especially sad for senior vice president Jimmy Devellano, who drafted Probert in 1983.

“It’s very sad, very, very sad,” Devellano said. “He was a pretty popular player in Detroit in the '80s, and certainly one tough guy with a lot of ability. But unfortunately we never got 100% out of him because of his off-ice problems.”

Probert was 45, and leaves behind a wife and four children.

Probie was one of my earliest hockey heroes and I've posted about him... or at least mentioned him... many times in the past.  His premature passing shocks EVERY Red Wings fan.

RIP, 24.  Thanks for the memories.