That explains the bond between the fans in Detroit and McCarty, who was, and is, the Wings' most popular player next to Steve Yzerman over this last decade of championship success.
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But it was McCarty's toughness and his willingness -- eagerness, really -- to stick up for teammates on the ice that quickly won over Detroit fans, who had grown to love the Pistons' Bad Boys and the Wings' Bruise Brothers in the 1980s. His pummeling of Colorado's Claude Lemieux in the now-infamous March 1997 brawl in Detroit -- payback for Lemieux's vicious hit on Draper in the 1996 playoffs -- is still viewed as a "coming-of-age moment," as McCarty puts it, for the Wings en route to Cup titles in 1997 and '98.
When that highlight was played on the television sets Tuesday night at the restaurant, the crowd roared as if it had just happened the night before.
Oh Mac, we'll miss you so much. Thanks for the memories!!
