No other player in NHL history spent as much time celebrating goals and sitting in the penalty box as Verbeek. The native of Sarnia, Ontario, finished his 20-season NHL career with 522 goals and 2,905 penalty minutes, by far the most of any member of the League's 500-goal club. The mixture of scoring and snarl earned Verbeek the nickname "The Little Ball of Hate."

The New Jersey Devils selected Verbeek in the third round (No. 43) of the 1982 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut against the New York Rangers on March 21, 1983 and scored his first goal three nights later against the Washington Capitals.

Verbeek scored an NHL career-high 46 goals in 1987-88, helping New Jersey advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since moving from Colorado in 1982. After he dropped to 26 goals the following season, New Jersey traded him to the Hartford Whalers on June 17, 1989.

He bounced back with 44 goals and an NHL career-high 89 points in 1989-90 and followed with a 43-goal, 82-point season in 1990-91. Verbeek scored 39 goals in 1992-93 and 37 in 1993-94, but after a slow start to the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, was traded again, this time to the New York Rangers on March 23, 1995.

Once again, Verbeek appeared invigorated by a trade. He scored 10 goals in the final 17 games of the 1994-95 season, then became a 40-goal scorer for the fourth time (41) in 1995-96.

Verbeek became a free agent after the 1996-97 season and signed with the Dallas Stars. His offensive numbers weren't as good but he helped the Stars win the Stanley Cup in 1999. He played two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and one with Dallas before retiring after the 2001-02 season with 1,062 points (522 goals, 540 assists) in 1,424 NHL games, and 62 points (26 goals, 36 assists) in 117 playoff games.

After retiring, Verbeek served as a part-time color analyst for Red Wings television broadcasts before joining the team as a scout. He later became assistant general manager with the Tampa Bay Lightning before holding the same position with the Red Wings.