Cursed Lemon
Registered Bruiser
Darren McCarty was my favorite hockey player when I was growing up. Now, to pick a player like McCarty among a star-drizzled roster like Detroit's in the 90s and early 2000s, I think, is a very interesting thing (not to put too much pomp in my own choices). There's no question that Darren was a 3rd liner at best, though he had some scoring potential, just like Bob Probert did in the prime of his career. And, like Probert, he had a somewhat short stretch of meaningful point production.
Nowadays, Darren McCarty gets almost no respect from the fans who once heralded him as strong example of what it means to carry the spirit of the city. Darren has made some questionable life choices, he has burnt himself out and ruined his good fortune for it all. Obviously, there's the pawn thing. There is no doubt that these things are the main reason that Red Wing fans sometimes shy away from talking about McCarty, or looking back upon his contributions with a fair eye.
But even beyond that, has Detroit ever truly appreciated what Darren McCarty brought to the Wings? No, he wasn't a stellar point producer. No, he wasn't the greatest playmaker. He could fight, and he was a competent bottom-sixer, but we've had a lot of those, now haven't we?
Darren, I feel, is forsaken by Detroit fans, and it disappoints me. The Red Wings have always been a very "stony" team, a low-key group of individuals that have quietly went and done their job. Darren McCarty, I feel, had the biggest heart of any Red Wing in the past 20 years, in terms of sheer tenacity and dedication to the team and its players.
Watch any video of Darren's plays or encounters, and you'll see what I mean. Look at him rub Larionov's head and talk him up when he entered the penalty box during the Avs/Wings brawl, right after he endeared himself to all of Michigan by putting it right in Lemieux's grill. Watch him mouth to Keczmer, "you're f***ing dead," after Keczmer put a high hit on Yzerman. See Darren jump up and down like a little kid after scoring that goal in game 4. He was always vocal on the bench, always bucked his teammates up when they got done with their shift, and was the one who smiled the widest when the Wings succeeded. Darren's fire and commitment to the team bordered on awkward sometimes, and that was ultimately what made him so special - you would be hard pressed to find a person like Darren in the NHL, who was so happy to be there that it came out in brash bursts as it did for him.
But these things, I think, are classically held as having zero value - especially to the kind of people that inhabit a place like this, trade hawks who aren't just "a little less on the loyalty side than Ken Holland," but hold almost zero loyalties at all, and would just as soon look back on someone like McCarty as a hack who had a couple flashy moments, some tough knuckles, and could've ultimately been replaced with "someone better".
I love Darren McCarty, and for everything he's gone through, he is still one of my favorite Red Wings.
Doesn't anybody else feel the same way I do?
Nowadays, Darren McCarty gets almost no respect from the fans who once heralded him as strong example of what it means to carry the spirit of the city. Darren has made some questionable life choices, he has burnt himself out and ruined his good fortune for it all. Obviously, there's the pawn thing. There is no doubt that these things are the main reason that Red Wing fans sometimes shy away from talking about McCarty, or looking back upon his contributions with a fair eye.
But even beyond that, has Detroit ever truly appreciated what Darren McCarty brought to the Wings? No, he wasn't a stellar point producer. No, he wasn't the greatest playmaker. He could fight, and he was a competent bottom-sixer, but we've had a lot of those, now haven't we?
Darren, I feel, is forsaken by Detroit fans, and it disappoints me. The Red Wings have always been a very "stony" team, a low-key group of individuals that have quietly went and done their job. Darren McCarty, I feel, had the biggest heart of any Red Wing in the past 20 years, in terms of sheer tenacity and dedication to the team and its players.
Watch any video of Darren's plays or encounters, and you'll see what I mean. Look at him rub Larionov's head and talk him up when he entered the penalty box during the Avs/Wings brawl, right after he endeared himself to all of Michigan by putting it right in Lemieux's grill. Watch him mouth to Keczmer, "you're f***ing dead," after Keczmer put a high hit on Yzerman. See Darren jump up and down like a little kid after scoring that goal in game 4. He was always vocal on the bench, always bucked his teammates up when they got done with their shift, and was the one who smiled the widest when the Wings succeeded. Darren's fire and commitment to the team bordered on awkward sometimes, and that was ultimately what made him so special - you would be hard pressed to find a person like Darren in the NHL, who was so happy to be there that it came out in brash bursts as it did for him.
But these things, I think, are classically held as having zero value - especially to the kind of people that inhabit a place like this, trade hawks who aren't just "a little less on the loyalty side than Ken Holland," but hold almost zero loyalties at all, and would just as soon look back on someone like McCarty as a hack who had a couple flashy moments, some tough knuckles, and could've ultimately been replaced with "someone better".
I love Darren McCarty, and for everything he's gone through, he is still one of my favorite Red Wings.
Doesn't anybody else feel the same way I do?
