A Detroit Red Wings legend didn’t hold back in his assessment of the franchise.
Darren McCarty, a beloved, four-time Stanley Cup champion for the Wings, on Tuesday, April 7, gave a reasoned opinion on his Woodward Sports Network show where he’s a co-host.
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It came after the Wings’ 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, but before another devastating loss Tuesday night, when the Wings blew a 3-2 lead in the final seconds, then lost in a shootout to fellow playoff-chasing Columbus Blue Jackets − incredibly, the Wings’ fifth straight loss at Little Caesars Arena.
Columbus Blue Jackets center Charlie Coyle scores on Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson to tie the score in the shootout at Little Caesars Arena, April 7, 2026. The Wings lost the game, 4-3.
“It’s the effort and at this part of the season, you can’t be motivated to play a 60-minute game, what are you doing?” McCarty said Tuesday. “Especially with everything on the line. And what you’re seeing right now is just, no. You either don’t have the talent enough to whatever else. But when push comes to shove, you’re a pushover.
“My biggest thing is like, you know, the Detroit Red Wings are now the team that you want to play. What are you scared of?
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“The hardest part is because when I watch somebody wear that jersey and know the blood, sweat and tears that I and my fellow guys put into it and that’s not it. And that’s the problem. It’s the you gotta hate losing more than you like winning.’
[ Red Wings distraught as playoff hopes take another blow ]
The Wings had a stellar first half of the season, overperforming expectations, but now are on the verge of collapsing in the final month for the second time in three years. They last made the playoffs in 2016.
Their playoff odds have tumbled to below 10% with four games remaining, after they were tied for the most points in the Eastern Conference on Jan. 24. They are 10th in the East, three points behind Ottawa − plus the tiebreaker − for the final wild-card spot.
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McCarty’s former Wings teammate and captain, Steve Yzerman, is in Year 7 as Wings general manager.
“We can all agree something … I don’t know what the answer is and I never pretended to have any of the answers, right, but something needs to change,” McCarty said.
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Detroit Red Wings continue playoff chase with visit from Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli (19) skates with the puck defended by Detroit Red Wings center Andrew Copp (18) in the first period at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings continue playoff chase with visit from Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli (19) skates with the puck defended by Detroit Red Wings center Andrew Copp (18) in the first period at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings continue playoff chase with visit from Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Danton Heinen (43) receives congratulations from teammates after scoring in the first period against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings continue playoff chase with visit from Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka (44) skates with the puck in the first period against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings continue playoff chase with visit from Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Danton Heinen (43) tries to score on Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson (36) defended by defenseman Justin Faulk (72) in the first period at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings continue playoff chase with visit from Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson (36) makes a save in the first period against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings continue playoff chase with visit from Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli (19) gets set to face off in the first period against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings continue playoff chase with visit from Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov (9) skates with the puck in the first period against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings continue playoff chase with visit from Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson (36) makes a save in front of center Dylan Larkin (71) and Columbus Blue Jackets center Charlie Coyle (3) in the first period at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings continue playoff chase with visit from Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (71) skates with the puck in the first period against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings continue playoff chase with visit from Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson (77) passes in the second period against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings continue playoff chase with visit from Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Conor Garland (83) skates with the puck in the first period against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings continue playoff chase with visit from Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves (73) makes a save in front of Detroit Red Wings center Michael Rasmussen (27) in the second period at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings continue playoff chase with visit from Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves (73) tends goal in the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
McCarty knows a little something about winning in the NHL and, specifically, Detroit. He played here and lives and does business in the community.
McCarty played on the Wings’ famed Grind Line, and spent 13 of his 15 NHL seasons with the Wings (1993-2004, 2007-09). He produced 127 goals and 161 assists for 288 points in 758 NHL games in the regular season. He had 23 goals and 26 assists in 174 playoff games, including a magnificent goal in Game 4 of the 1997 Stanley Cup Final that ended up as the winner to bring Hockeytown its first Cup since 1955.
Darren McCarty waves at fans during a ceremony to honor Stanley Cup champion team members from 1996-97, 1997-98, and 2001-02 seasons at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.
And of course, no one here will forget “Fight Night at the Joe” a few months prior in that 1997 season.
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“Darren McCarty will never pay for a meal in this town again,” were the first words from Free Press columnist Mitch Albom the next day, after McCarty pummeled Colorado’s Claude Lemieux.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Darren McCarty reacts to Detroit Red Wings choke: ‘You’re a pushover’