Darren Douglas McCarty (born April 1, 1972) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

forward and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

, best known for his years playing 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 ...

of the National Hockey League (NHL). McCarty has been known for taking on the role of the Red Wings enforcer most of his career, a role in which he played in five

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...

and won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () 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, and the International Ic ...

four times in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, the last of which after resurrecting his career in the Red Wings minor league system. McCarty spent much of his childhood in the small town of

Leamington, Ontario Leamington ( ) is a municipality in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. With a population of 29,680 in the Canada 2021 Census, it forms the second largest urban centre in Windsor-Essex County after Windsor, Ontario. It includes Point Pelee Nationa ...

, playing for the Southpoint Capitals ( OMHA) minor teams.

Playing career

Belleville Bulls

McCarty played for the

Belleville Bulls The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

from 1989 through 1992. As captain of the team during the 1991-92 season, McCarty recorded 55 goals and 72 assists for 127 points in 65 games. He was awarded the

Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy The Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy is awarded annually by the Ontario Hockey League since 1972, to the right winger who scores the most points in the regular season. The Peterborough Petes donated the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy in his memory to the top ...

as the top scoring

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

Detroit Red Wings

Drafted by the Red Wings in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft in the 2nd round, 49th overall, McCarty scored 26 points in his rookie season to help the team win the Central Division title. In the

1996–97 NHL season The 1996–97 NHL season was the 80th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, becoming the Phoenix Coyotes. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Philadelphia Fl ...

, McCarty scored a career-best 19 goals and 42 points as the Wings swept the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

for their first

in 42 years; McCarty scored the Cup-clinching goal in Game 4. From the 1997–98 season until his departure from the team, McCarty was part of Detroit's famous Grind Line with center Kris Draper and winger Kirk Maltby, which was often matched up against the opponent's top offensive line. One of McCarty's most infamous moments was in the famous " Fight Night at the Joe" on March 26, 1997, where a massive brawl broke out between the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

and Red Wings. McCarty stunned Avalanche right winger

Claude Lemieux Claude Percy Lemieux (born July 16, 1965), is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for six teams between 1983 and 2009. Lemieux won four Stanley Cup championships during his car ...

with a blistering punch and continued punching Lemieux while Lemieux "turtled" his body to avoid damage. The fight was revenge for a hit that Lemieux inflicted on Kris Draper in the previous years playoffs that caused significant injuries to Draper. The fight was also considered as what had broken the curse over the Red Wings, as the Red Wings went on to win their first Stanley cup in over 40 years. McCarty also scored the overtime winning goal to make it 6–5. In the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs, McCarty registered his first

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in Game One of the Western Conference Finals against the

Patrick Roy Patrick Jacques Roy (; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach, executive and former player who is the head coach for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Roy previously served as head coach for ...

. McCarty scored four goals in the series, a career best. Detroit won the series and eventually a third Stanley Cup in six years. Darren McCarty - Calgary Flames

Calgary Flames

After 11 seasons with the Red Wings, McCarty and the team parted ways as the lockout cancelled the

2004–05 NHL season The 2004–05 NHL season would have been the National Hockey League's 88th season of play. The entire 1,230-game schedule, that was set to begin in October, was officially canceled on February 16, 2005, due to an unresolved lockout that began ...

. McCarty's contract was bought out by the Red Wings as a result of the newly implemented salary cap. He then signed as a free agent with the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

on August 2, 2005. He scored seven goals for the Flames during the regular season. He scored the overtime winning goal in Game 1 of the Flames first round series against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, a series Calgary would eventually lose in 7 games. In the 2006–07 season, McCarty appeared in only 32 games and for the first time in his career, failed to register a point.

Flint Generals

On December 31, 2007, the Flint Generals of the International Hockey League announced that McCarty had signed with the team. The Generals are co-owned by McCarty's former Grind Liner, Kris Draper, who encouraged McCarty to make a comeback to professional hockey. McCarty made his home debut for the Generals on January 12, 2008, and recorded one assist in the 4–3 victory. In ten games with the Generals, McCarty had three goals, two assists, and thirty penalty minutes.

Grand Rapids Griffins and return to the Red Wings

On January 30, 2008, ''

The Grand Rapids Press ''The Grand Rapids Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 20 ...

'' reported that McCarty would sign a professional tryout contract with the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL), playing their home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of t ...

. On February 4, 2008, this was made official. On his Griffins debut at Van Andel Arena, he tallied a hat trick and added an assist to power Grand Rapids to a 6–3 win over the

Lake Erie Monsters A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a depression (geology), basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land an ...

. On February 25, McCarty signed a one-year contract with the Red Wings and was called up on March 7. Facing Nashville in the opening round of the 2008 playoffs, McCarty scored the opening goal in Game Two, a 4-2 Detroit win. The Red Wings eventually won the Stanley Cup in June 2008, McCarty's fourth championship with the team. McCarty signed a one-year contract with the Wings in the offseason. Because he played in the

2008 Stanley Cup Finals The 2008 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2007–08 season, and the culmination of the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings a ...

, he qualified to get his name included on the cup a 4th time. On November 18, the Red Wings placed McCarty on waivers, knowing he would not be claimed. McCarty cleared waivers and remained with the team. After being sent to Grand Rapids for one game, McCarty was soon recalled. He played 13 games in the 2008–2009 season scoring one goal and 25 penalty minutes. McCarty later suffered a groin strain which landed him on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

in late November. On February 24, 2009, the Detroit Red Wings reassigned McCarty to the Grand Rapids Griffins, after being activated from the injured reserve list. There, he played in 19 games for the Griffins, scoring 5 goals and 6 assists while also collecting 21 penalty minutes. During the Griffins' playoff run McCarty scored 3 goals, 1 assist and 8 penalty minutes in 10 games. After the Griffins were eliminated in the playoffs by the Manitoba Moose, McCarty was recalled by the Red Wings along with several other Griffins players on May 10.

On July 1, 2009, McCarty became an unrestricted free agent. One week later, Red Wings' general manager Ken Holland stated that the team would likely move on from McCart

Retirement

On December 7, 2009, McCarty officially retired, and had already accepted a job as color analyst for Versus. A fifteen-season veteran and fan favorite in Detroit, McCarty thanked the Red Wings and Flames organizations as well as the fans for helping him to realize his dream.

Broadcasting

On November 23, 2009, McCarty made his debut as an NHL Analyst for Versus (TV channel), Versus. McCarty made occasional appearances on the Versus post game show, Hockey Central. McCarty served as a fill-in co-host on WXYT-FM (97.1 The Ticket) in Detroit. McCarty appeared on the January 24, 2012 episode of the

truTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable Television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts reruns of Television comedy, comedy, Reality television, docusoaps and reality shows, with a rec ...

reality series '' Hardcore Pawn'', where he appeared with a friend who was trying to sell an alligator hide. Later, American Jewelry and Loan owners Les and Seth Gold and truTV hired McCarty to do some cameo appearances on the show. McCarty started his weekly podcast, Grind Time with Darren McCarty, in December 2018. He broadcast weekly from Radio for One Studios featuring guests to discuss topics ranging from hockey to music to life's journey to legalization of cannabis. The "Grind Time with Darren McCarty" team consist of his Co-Host Perry Vellucci and Executive Producer / Business Manager Nick Antonucci, which has joined Woodward Sports Network in Birmingham, MI as of January 2021.

Professional wrestling career

McCarty now occasionally appears and wrestles for pro wrestling company ICW No Holds Barred. He was brought in to feud with wrestlers Brandon Kirk and Kasey Kirk. On March 24, 2023, he was a guest at

IMPACT Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busine ...

's monthly special

Sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

. After being confronted by

Bully Ray Mark LoMonaco (born July 14, 1971), known by his ring name Bubba Ray Dudley (also spelled Buh-Buh Ray Dudley), is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for being one-half of the Dudley B ...

, it led to a fight in the ring between the two. The Good Hands (John Skyler and Jason Hoch) and Bully Ray triple powerbombed McCarty through a table. He returned to IMPACT to team with

Tommy Dreamer Thomas James Laughlin (born February 13, 1971) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and professional wrestling promotion, promoter better known by the ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestli ...

and Yuya Uemura in a six-man tag team match against Bully Ray and the Good Hands on a post-Sactifice edition of IMPACT. The April 6 edition of IMPACT saw McCarty, Dreamer, and Uemura get the win with McCarty getting the pinfall. On the June 29 edition of IMPACT, it was announced that McCarty would be returning at the Slammiversary pay-per-view (PPV). He was announced as the special guest enforcer for Bully Ray and Steve Maclin vs. PCO and Scott D'Amore tag team match.

Personal life

McCarty's father, Craig, was diagnosed with

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibody, antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone ...

, an incurable cancer of the bone marrow and blood, in 1995. In 1997, Darren McCarty established the McCarty Cancer Foundation to raise funds to finance research for a cure of this type of cancer. During the early 2000s he was part of an investigative journalism piece for Rob Wolchek of WJBK-TV Fox 2 News in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, in which a self-proclaimed masseuse fabricated family ties to McCarty in an attempt to further garner clientele from the local area while practicing without any certifications. During the offseason, McCarty is the lead singer for hard rock band "Grinder" which has been in hiatus with the sudden passing of their bass player and friend, James B. Anders from

cardiomyopathy Cardiomyopathy is a group of primary diseases of the heart muscle. Early on there may be few or no symptoms. As the disease worsens, shortness of breath, feeling tired, and swelling of the legs may occur, due to the onset of heart failure. A ...

. McCarty appeared on the 2005 ESPN game show ''Teammates'' with his teammate on the Red Wings at the time, Brendan Shanahan. McCarty has four kids with first wife, Cheryl: Griffin, Emerson, Avery, and Gracyn. In 2012, McCarty wed long time girlfriend Sheryl Sirmons. He lives in Clawson, Michigan. McCarty's autobiography, ''My Last Fight: The True Story of a Hockey Rock Star'', was released on December 1, 2013, by Triumph Books. McCarty is a proponent for the legalization of cannabis. He credits cannabis with helping him overcome his

alcohol addiction Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

Awards

* 1992:

First All-Star Team * 1992:

* 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008: Won the

with the Red Wings * 1998: ESPY Award NHL Play of the Year * 2003 Named the winner of the NHL Foundation Player Award

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Detroit Red Wings profile pageDarren McCarty - ESPY Nominated Goal on YoutubeMcCarty vs. Lemieux on Youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mccarty, Darren 1972 births Living people Adirondack Red Wings players Belleville Bulls players Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian sportspeople of Irish descent Detroit Red Wings draft picks Detroit Red Wings players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Flint Generals players Grand Rapids Griffins players Ice hockey people from Burnaby Sportspeople from Leamington, Ontario Ice hockey people from Essex County, Ontario Stanley Cup champions People from Clawson, Michigan Ice hockey people from Oakland County, Michigan American cannabis activists 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian singers