{"id":690,"date":"2026-05-28T22:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T22:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=690"},"modified":"2026-05-28T22:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T22:08:10","slug":"claude-lemieuxs-longtime-nhl-rival-turned-friend-darren-mccarty-offers-touching-tribute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=690","title":{"rendered":"Claude Lemieux’s longtime NHL rival-turned-friend Darren McCarty offers touching tribute"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

One of Claude Lemieux\u2019s longtime rivals had touching words for the four-time Stanley Cup winner, who died by suicide at the age of 60.<\/p>\n

Read more Exclusive | Ex-JPMorgan broker awarded $4M for his firing over $642.50 deli platter claims his ouster was \u2018premeditated\u2019: \u2018Punch in the stomach\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is extremely sad no matter what feelings from past or present you hold,\u201d former Red Wings forward Darren McCarty wrote on X. \u201cMy thoughts and prayers to his family and friends and people who got to see the person off the ice wasn\u2019t the person on.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCarty and Lemieux are central figures to the Avalanche-Red Wings rivalry of the late 1990s, with Lemieux infamously injuring Detroit\u2019s Kris Draper with a vicious check from behind in Game 6 of the 1996 Western Conference Final, breaking multiple bones in Draper\u2019s face and requiring reconstructive surgery.<\/p>\n

McCarty and his teammates watched Lemieux raise the Stanley Cup \u2014 the third of his career \u2014 that spring. The following season, in their fourth matchup of 1996-97 and what would later become known as \u201cFight Night at the Joe,\u201d the McCarty cold-cocked Lemieux and proceeded to rain down punches on him as he lay on the ice at Joe Louis Arena, and later dragged him to where Draper stood on the Red Wings bench.<\/p>\n

The game \u2014 the regular season finale \u2014 served as a rallying point for Detroit, which went on to win the first of back-to-back Cups.<\/p>\n

Any ill will between the pair dissipated over the years, with McCarty and Lemieux becoming friends and using their feud to fundraise for charity.<\/p>\n

Read more Minnesota pair bilked $21 million in state funds meant for autism services: feds<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAs I\u2019ve said and will always call it as I see it,\u201d McCarty opined on X, \u201c\u2018If your on the ICE with Claude Lemieux and your turn your back. YOU Are an IDIOT. But off the ICE I\u2019ll turn mine.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Lemieux\u2019s death was announced Thursday, with TMZ reporting the Devils icon was found after committing suicide by one of his adult sons in the family\u2019s furniture store in Florida.<\/p>\n

It came days after he returned to Montreal, where he won his first Stanley Cup in 1986 with the Canadiens, to amp up the crowd ahead of the franchise\u2019s Game 3 against the Hurricanes on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are struggling at all please reach out and talk to someone,\u201d McCarty wrote. <\/p>\n

Read more Claude Lemieux\u2019s death came days after emotional Canadiens playoff appearance<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cGodspeed my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Darren McCarty and Claude Lemieux are central figures to the Avalanche-Red Wings rivalry of the late 90s, with the pair going on to become friends and using their on-ice feud to raise money for charity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nhl"],"yoast_head":"\nClaude Lemieux's longtime NHL rival-turned-friend Darren McCarty offers touching tribute - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=690\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Claude Lemieux's longtime NHL rival-turned-friend Darren McCarty offers touching tribute - 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