Michael WhitakerThu, April 30, 2026 at 2:15 AM UTC·2 min readFollow Michael Whitaker On X
Former Detroit Red Wings forward Darren McCarty knows all about toughness, as he'll forever be a folk hero in the Motor City for dishing out the infamous physical punishment against former Colorado Avalanche villain Claude Lemieux on March 26, 1997.
McCarty was also never shy about dropping the gloves, throwing out bone-crunching hits, and going to the hard areas of the ice.
Given that his entire career was about playing with an edge to his game, it makes his observations about the way the current edition of the Red Wings play all the more concerning.
While making an appearance on "The Woodward Sports Network", for which he's a regular contributor, McCarty bluntly referred to the current Red Wings as "soft".
"We're the softest team in the league," McCarty said of the current Red Wings. "Is there another softer team? No. To me, that has to be addressed first. What I heard, and I didn't hear what it was going to be, but I heard from Steve Yzerman (season-ending news conference) something's going to happen."
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Like many, McCarty took comments from his former teammate Steve Yzerman, who currently serves as the club's general manager, to mean that multiple moves are on the horizon for the Red Wings to do away with what head coach Todd McLellan often referred to as simply "jerseys" on the ice.
During Detroit's downswing in March that saw them ultimately tumble out of the postseason race, McCarty voiced his belief that too many players on the Red Wings don't hate losing enough.
"We Had Concerns": Steve Yzerman Saw Warning Signs For Red Wings During Thursday's press conference, Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman spoke honestly about what needs to improve for his club, which just missed the playoffs for the 10th consecutive season.
"He's going to find guys that hate losing more than they like winning, because it's not in the room," He said. "They're not bound together like other teams, you know, going to war, persevering, and playing for each other. You've got to get tougher to play against.
We're still soft. That's the biggest thing, how soft we are."
During his NHL career, which included four Stanley Cup wins with the Red Wings along with a brief stint with the Calgary Flames, McCarty racked up 116 fighting majors and 1,477 total penalty minutes.
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