Patrick Martin Verbeek (born May 24, 1964) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player and current general manager of the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). Verbeek played for five teams over a 20-year playing career, earning a

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

ring with the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. His nickname, the "Little Ball of Hate", was given to him in 1995 by

Glenn Healy Glenn Healy (born August 23, 1962) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender who played for 15 years in the National Hockey League. Prior to that, he was a member of the Western Michigan University hockey team, and 1985 graduate of the school. H ...

after fellow

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

teammate

Ray Ferraro Raymond Vincent Ferraro (born August 23, 1964) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey player and currently sports commentator, broadcaster for NHL on ESPN, ESPN/NHL on ABC, ABC and formerly of TSN Hockey, TSN. He played for 21 se ...

was tagged as the "Big Ball of Hate". He is one of 46 players to have scored 500 goals, but he is one of five eligible players to not be a member of the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

Playing career

Verbeek grew up in

Petrolia, Ontario Petrolia is a town in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is part of Lambton County and is surrounded by Enniskillen Township. It is billed as "Canada's Victorian Oil Town" and is often credited with starting the oil industry in North America, a ...

playing minor hockey before suiting up for the OHA Petrolia Jets Jr.B. club in 1979-80 as a 15-year old. Verbeek was selected 43rd overall by the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

in the

1982 NHL Entry Draft The 1982 NHL Entry Draft was the 20th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1981 ...

. He helped the Devils to their first playoff berth in the 1987–88 season, when he scored what was a club record 46 goals until it was broken in the 2005–06 season by

Brian Gionta Brian Joseph Gionta (born January 18, 1979) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Gionta began his NHL career in 2001 with the New Jersey Devils and has served as captain ...

's 48 goals. On May 15, 1985, one of Verbeek's thumbs was cut off by an

auger Auger may refer to: Engineering * Wood auger, a drill for making holes in wood (or in the ground) ** Auger bit, a drill bit * Auger conveyor, a device for moving material by means of a rotating helical flighting * Auger (platform), the world's f ...

in a farming accident. Thanks to his father and brother his thumb was saved, and after extensive rehabilitation, Verbeek returned to hockey. He did not miss any regular-season NHL games because of the injury. On April 18, 1988, Verbeek cut the leg of Washington Capitals defenseman

Rod Langway Rodney Cory Langway (born May 3, 1957) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played for the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League (NHL) and Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Associati ...

with his skate. The NHL ruled the incident accidental, but the episode added to the Patrick Division rivalry between Washington and New Jersey. After the 1988–89 season, the Devils traded him to the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

. 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 Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. After a short stint with the Rangers, he signed with the

as a free agent in 1996, where he won his first

. During the 1999–2000 season, he signed with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. 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.

Post-playing career

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. Verbeek was later recruited by former teammate,

Steve Yzerman Stephen Gregory Yzerman (; born May 9, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player currently serving as executive vice president and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he spent all 22 seasons of his NHL playing c ...

, to work as assistant general manager for the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

. Pat Verbeek worked alongside Yzerman for the Lightning for years, until the pair eventually returned to Detroit. On May 6, 2019, Verbeek was named an assistant general manager for the Detroit Red Wings. Verbeek was named general manager of the Anaheim Ducks on February 3, 2022.

Personal

Verbeek and his wife Dianne have five children. One son, Kyle, and four daughters: Stephanie, Kendall, Haley, & Georgeanne. The family resided in

Birmingham, Michigan Birmingham is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit located along the Woodward Corridor ( M-1). As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103. History The area comprising what is now the c ...

during his tenure with the Red Wings.

Awards

*Member of one

winning team:

with the

*Selected to two NHL All-Star Games:

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

and

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Verbeek, Pat 1964 births Living people Canadian ice hockey forwards Canadian people of Dutch descent Dallas Stars players Detroit Red Wings announcers Detroit Red Wings executives Detroit Red Wings players Detroit Red Wings scouts Hartford Whalers captains Hartford Whalers players Ice hockey people from Ontario National Hockey League All-Stars National Hockey League broadcasters New Jersey Devils draft picks New Jersey Devils players New York Rangers players Sportspeople from Sarnia Stanley Cup champions Sudbury Wolves players Tampa Bay Lightning executives Tampa Bay Lightning scouts