Pat Verbeek

Patrick Verbeek (born on May 24, 1964 in Sarnia, Ontario) is a Canadian-born former player who played for the New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, and Detroit Red Wings during his career. His nickname, "The Little Ball of Hate", was given to him in 1995 by Glenn Healy after his New York Rangers teammate Ray Ferraro was tagged as the "Big Ball of Hate".

Playing career
Verbeek was selected 43rd overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He helped the Devils to their first playoff berth in the 1987–88 season, when he scored a club record 46 goals during the regular season.

After the 1988–89 season, the Devils traded him to the Hartford Whalers (now the Carolina Hurricanes). In his first season, he led the team in goal scoring and in his second he was named team MVP. In 1991, he made the All-Star team for the first time and in the following season, Verbeek was named the Whalers captain. After a short stint with the Rangers, he signed with the Dallas Stars as a free agent, where he won his first Stanley Cup in 1999.

During the 1999–2000 season, he signed with the Detroit Red Wings. In Detroit, he passed the 1,000-point mark, scored his 500th goal, and moved into the top 25 in career goal scoring before returning to Dallas for his final NHL season in 2001-02. After retirement, he became a part-time color analyst for television broadcasts of Red Wings' road games. Verbeek is the only player in NHL history to total over 500 career goals and 2500 career penalty minutes. He left his position as a broadcaster in September 2006, to become a scout for the Red Wings.

On May 15, 1985 one of Verbeek's thumbs was cut off by an auger in a farming accident. Thanks to his father and brother his thumb was saved, and after extensive rehabilitation, Verbeek returned to hockey (although he did not miss any regular-season NHL games because of the injury).