Happy Birthday To Detroit Red Wing Legend Darren McCarty

Here’s Detroit Red Wing legend Darren McCarty and me mixing it up on the ice. That’ll teach him to mess with me!

Dave Reginek

Happy Birthday to former NHLer and Detroit Red Wing legend, Darren McCarty! Not many of you may know, but I met DMac before he won his first Stanley Cup. Yes, it's been that long. We've been friends ever since.

I've spent a lot of time with Darren, so I get to see how people react to meeting someone they may have seen score the game-winner in the Cup finals in 1997. Or perhaps they watched him get revenge for Kris Draper by completely wrecking Claude Lemuiex at center ice at what's been dubbed "Fight Night At The Joe" 27 years ago. A night he likes to refer to as National Turtle Day because of the turtle pose Lemuiex went into after being cold-cocked by Darren. Whatever the case, I'm not sure if there's a Detroit Red Wing in history that's met more fans or had their stories told to them. Every fan that meets him has a story and can't wait to tell Darren.

I have several, but the one that sticks out the most was watching the 2010 Gold Medal Olympics game at a place called Doc's Sports Retreat in Livonia. Here's the short story. With the game in overtime, I told him that if Sidney Crosby scored the game-winning goal I was going to "throw this beer through the TV" Well, those are words I'd soon regret as #87 scored about :08 later. Darren went crazy! He went table to table high-fiving everyone in the bar, who were dejected after watching team U.S.A. lose. People reluctantly did high-five him back, only because it was Darren McCarty, Detroit Red Wiung legend. I'll never forget watching him and two other guys, team Canada fans, race around the room in a pure celebratory mood. They were the only ones who did.

While DMac has practically done it all in the world of hockey, I love meeting him at local wrestling shows. He watches along as if to partly study what the guys in the ring are doing, partly to watch in a child-like admiration of these guys and girls. He truly loves it.

Happy Birthday, dude! Here's to many, many more!

-Meltdown-

https://wrif.com/shows/meltdown-on-wrif/

Dave Reginek

Here's Detroit Red Wing legend Darren McCarty and me mixing it up on the ice. That'll teach him to mess with me!

Meltdown, Jade and Darren McCarty

Myself, Jade and Darren McCarty around 2010 or so.

Dave Reginek

Darren in action during his playing days. He amassed 1,477 penalty minutes in his NHL career.

Meltdown

Darren McCarty always makes an appearance at Astro.

Nolan Neville

Always great to talk with Darren McCarty. I turned the tables and just talked about my hockey "career"....that didn't go well with DMac...LOL

Dave Reginek

Darren played 758 NHL games, earning 287 total points. 127 goals, 161 assists.

Darren McCarty is one of my oldest friends since I moved to Michigan.

WRIF Rockin Golf Outing with Darren McCarty

Darren meeting some fans after an alumni game. This is nothing new to DMac. He always takes time with his fans and friends.

Meltdown

This is right after my friend Johnny threatened to beat him up. As you can see, Darren was shaking in his hockey skates.

Dave Reginek

Darren McCarty locked up in front of the net with a Calgary Flames player.

Detroit Red Wings

MeltdownEditor

Meltdown started on the mighty WRIF on the evening of Halloween, 1995. Technically, his first on-air shift was the morning of November 1st. Moving to the Motor City from Buffalo, N.Y., he has built a career and family. Over his almost three-decade stint at RIFF, he's had the privilege to work with some of the biggest personalities in Detroit radio history. He boasts of being just the second-afternoon drive jock in the station's illustrious 53-year history. Along with his love for rock music and attending concerts, he's also an avid Harley-Davidson enthusiast and hockey player. He plays year-round and manages to squeeze in a few charity games throughout the year. Meltdown writes about the Detroit Red Wings, rock music, and Detroit concert venues.