McCarty & Claude Lemieux on TSN's OTR

[55fan 5,133]

Does anybody know what Lemieux said to Mac in Dallas? It was pretty dumb that they interrupted Mac for that question.

According to "Blood Feud":

I told him I hoped he was OK," Lemieux said.

McCarty had a relapse of his drinking problems in 2003. Having had his share of off-ice problems and personal pain, Lemieux told McCarty to hang in there, that things would work out in the end.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Does this mean I can't hate Lemieux anymore?

[55fan 5,133]

Does this mean I can't hate Lemieux anymore?

Hate all you want. He still said some nasty things about Draper.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Still can't stand him just as much as I couldn't back then. He likes to play this 'woe is me' act even after all these years. Poor baby needed security when coming to Detroit. God I wish Mac would of jumped him during this interview. haha

[Marty Barry 230]

Does this mean I can't hate Lemieux anymore?

[shoe 165]

Macs Hasek impression was funny right at the end

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

For those of you who may have missed it the first time... from TSN :

Coming Up on Off the Record

Wednesday, Aug 18

Best of OTR Best of Darren McCarty & Claude Lemieux

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

Still don't like Claude. I'm itching for another rivalry as heated as that one was. It doesn't even have to involve us, I just wanna have a rivalry like that in the game today.

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

Well, it'll never be spotless, but there definitely hasn't been any nasty rivalries in recent years. Free agency destroys many chances for rivalries to develop. When is Bettman's tenure up?

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

Personally, I love hard-hitting, scrappy hockey. That's the way the game is supposed to be played. The league cares too much about what people outside of "The Hockey World" think. Sure, more goals being scored, in essence, make the game more interesting, in general, but the atrocious amounts of chinky penalties called is ridiculous. The hooks, holds, and interference calls seemingly every other minute disrupt the flow of the game. In my opinion, its not fun to watch a game filled with powerplay after powerplay after powerplay after powerplay, because there's no flow to the game. Stoppages every 2 seconds.

[hooon 1,089]

Personally, I love hard-hitting, scrappy hockey. That's the way the game is supposed to be played. The league cares too much about what people outside of "The Hockey World" think. Sure, more goals being scored, in essence, make the game more interesting, in general, but the atrocious amounts of chinky penalties called is ridiculous. The hooks, holds, and interference calls seemingly every other minute disrupt the flow of the game. In my opinion, its not fun to watch a game filled with powerplay after powerplay after powerplay after powerplay, because there's no flow to the game. Stoppages every 2 seconds.

That Aves-Wings rivalry was awesome. Two equally-talented teams who nearly always faced each other in the playoffs. Good times.

[esteef 2,679]

I don't care what anybody says, Claude tried to hurt Drapes on purpose. He can be all classy when he's being interviewed on tv or whatever but that ******* knew exactly what he was doing. f*** him!

esteef

[Echolalia 2,961]

That Aves-Wings rivalry was awesome. Two equally-talented teams who nearly always faced each other in the playoffs. Good times.

Without the Avs the Wings may likely have gone on to win three more Cups in the past two decades. My question is this: would winning three Cups be worth never experiencing the rivalry?

[Guest Stolberg]

Sure, more goals being scored, in essence, make the game more interesting, in general, but the atrocious amounts of chinky penalties called is ridiculous. The hooks, holds, and interference calls seemingly every other minute disrupt the flow of the game. In my opinion, its not fun to watch a game filled with powerplay after powerplay after powerplay after powerplay, because there's no flow to the game. Stoppages every 2 seconds.

And pre-lockout, you could say that the hooks, holds, and interference calls that were never made disrupted the flow of the game even more. How many times have you watched old footage and seen guys like Lemieux get hooked and pulled on all the way to the net? The number of powerplays this season were at the lowest since 01-02, and really they only spiked in the first season after the lockout. I think a more reasonable exaggeration would be better than "stoppages every two seconds."

[motorcitykid 42]

I don't care what anybody says, Claude tried to hurt Drapes on purpose. He can be all classy when he's being interviewed on tv or whatever but that ******* knew exactly what he was doing. f*** him!

esteef

^^ This.

How can any fan of the red and white ever, EVER say it's ok to see this little yknowwhat!!! shake Macs hand. I missed the original airing but saw tonights repeat. How sickening!!!

Not only the highlights from that incident but seeing Mac and the Turtle side by side!!! And Lemieux was playing all nice and talkin nonsense about never running from a fight and how he too has had injuries resulting from a cheapshot but yet, what HE did wasn't! SMFH!!!! Some guys never ever deserve a second chance and if you remember that night, that game, as it happened .... you couldn't possibly EVER forgive that piece of trash!!!!

*endrant*

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

The story about the pliers is still great.

[Nightfall 871]

And pre-lockout, you could say that the hooks, holds, and interference calls that were never made disrupted the flow of the game even more. How many times have you watched old footage and seen guys like Lemieux get hooked and pulled on all the way to the net? The number of powerplays this season were at the lowest since 01-02, and really they only spiked in the first season after the lockout. I think a more reasonable exaggeration would be better than "stoppages every two seconds."

Actually, the players have changed their style of play since the lockout. The penalties are going down because the players are keeping their sticks down and not hooking and interfering. I see pre-lockout style hockey every now and then on the NHL network, and then watch a game or two from last season and you see a clear night and day difference. The referees are doing the right thing by enforcing the rules. Could things be locked down even further? I think so, at the same time though, they have to find the right balance between playing the game and being too stringent.

^^ This.

How can any fan of the red and white ever, EVER say it's ok to see this little yknowwhat!!! shake Macs hand. I missed the original airing but saw tonights repeat. How sickening!!!

Not only the highlights from that incident but seeing Mac and the Turtle side by side!!! And Lemieux was playing all nice and talkin nonsense about never running from a fight and how he too has had injuries resulting from a cheapshot but yet, what HE did wasn't! SMFH!!!! Some guys never ever deserve a second chance and if you remember that night, that game, as it happened .... you couldn't possibly EVER forgive that piece of trash!!!!

*endrant*

Time heals all wounds. Was it accidental? All I can tell you is that hockey is played at a blistering pace. In over 10 years of playing the sport, I have seen accidents happen, and sometimes some idiot does something on purpose that results in an injury. I am not saying to give Claude the benefit of the doubt, but I am saying to at least let that be a factor in your decision. Regardless, if he was really sorry, what he should have done is just tell Draper and the Wings that he was, which he never did to my recollection. That is a black mark right there.

[Nightfall 871]

The "league" doesn't want any kind of rivalry resembling what we had seen in past years...Bettman, and Co. have been doing their best to keep things spotless.

Actually, the rivalries are still alive. The thing is that the players make the rivalry. The NHL doesn't stop or regulate the rivalries at all. Look at the Matt Cooke hit for instance. In the next Pittsburgh/Boston game, it wasn't called any different. Matt Cooke got beat up a bit. The Pens won the game. If the NHL was sick of that kind of thing, they would have really locked the game down.

Detroit Colorado rivalry got started in the playoffs back in 1996 when Draper got hurt. No one remembers the days of the "rivalry" before that because they were just games played. I think the rivalry was over with they year the Wings won the cup in 2002. Lemieux was gone, and Roy retired a couple years after that. Detroit and Chicago had a heck of a rivalry back in the day as well, but today its just games played for the most part.

Just further proof that "rivalries" are born through the players actions and the players themselves. The league can't regulate that.

[Nightfall 871]

IMO Pittsburgh/Boston don't really have anything going as far as a rivalry - yet...As for the Red Wings/Avs rivalry - the Avs just moved that season to Colorado (as you said only a handful of games had been played against each other prior to the playoffs) so it more or less sprung up overnight...Never the less it was an awesome time to be a fan of either team.

The league has taken steps to limit how players respond to one another - ie: the instigator penalty, then there's potential suspension if starting a fight in the remaining 5 min of a game (excluding guys like Malkin), and most recent the blind sided head shots (which is a good thing)...Then there's the obligatory Gary Bettman in attendance when there's potential for carry over violence (as if his presence means anything), but yet it's the league's way of letting the players know that they're under the microscope.

The players have changed as well over the years; 15 plus years ago there were a plethora of guys in the league who didn't mind "getting their noses dirty"...Today there's a much smaller number of those players, and there's a alot more emphasis on the skill aspect of the game.

I do agree with you somewhat. The term "getting your nose dirty" is more of a get in the corners and battle it out instead of a goon mentality or a fighting mentality. Personally, I like the skill aspect of the game. Sure, I like big hits and some fighting every now and again. At the same time though, the players that really appeal to me are the Ovechkin, Datsyuk, Crosby, and Sedin twins style of hockey. They are very skilled and very enjoyable to watch. Are the players more under the microsope now than they were 20 years ago? Absolutely. Especially due to expanded TV rights where more people are watching.

I absolutely agree with you that they should get rid of the instigator penalty. At the same time though, the penalties for players being sent out to hurt others with the game 5 minutes from being over is something I approve of. Too many times have we seen a goon go out and hurt another player when they are down by 3 goals in the last minute. As you said, the blind side hits are also something they should be watching for.

It was an awesome time to be a fan of the Red Wings during that rivalry. At the same time though, as I said, rivalries come and go. Everyone remembers the hey days of that rivalry, but the games that have been played since 2003 people don't remember anymore. Why? The rivalry is pretty much gone because the PLAYERS have moved on to other teams or retired. These rivalries are still alive with some teams. The Wings will have another rivalry in the next 4-5 years, count on it. I just don't subscribe to the fact that the NHL governing body regulates the rivalries. The players have and always will.

[Guest CaliWingsNut]

I still have yet to watch this, and am without TV. The old tsn link is dead, anyone got a newer version on youtube or something?

[Nightfall 871]

I still have yet to watch this, and am without TV. The old tsn link is dead, anyone got a newer version on youtube or something?

Its on Youtube. Do a search. Its easy to find.

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

I agree that most of the players from the Wings/Avs rivalry have moved on, in some way, either retirement or signing elsewhere. Guys that were the fuel to that rivalry (Shanahan, McCarty,Lemieux, Lapointe, Roy, Deadmarsh, Forsberg, etc.) have all moved on. I agree 100% with getting rid of the instigator. The Bruins and Penguins don't become automatic rivals because of the Cooke cheapshot. I think (and hope) there will be further retaliation by the Bruins next year. Remember, McCarty got Lemieux the following year, so the major retaliation doesn't always come right away. With free agency, the possibility for lasting rivalries decrease. The fact that Bettman attends games has no effect on the players whatsoever. Fighting in the NHL has steadily increased since 2005-2006. Not saying that fighting=rivalry. But there's no rivalry if there's not some nastiness.