Flashback: Darren McCarty and Claude Lemieux sign autographs together

It may seem quite unusual to see Darren McCarty and Claude Lemieux together in the same room and being completely cordial with one another rather than trying to smash the other's face in. 

However, that's what hockey fans were treated to in 2017 when two of the central figures from the legendary Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche rivalry came together to sign autographs at Michigan's Gibraltar Trade Center.

Let's throw it back a few years for those of you who are unfamiliar with the story. Per The Detroit Free Press: 

"Just 10 minutes before a 1 p.m. autograph show March 11, Claude Lemieux walked into the Gibraltar Trade Center office in Mt. Clemens, having just arrived on a red-eye flight from his home in Huntington Beach, Calif.

With a huge grin, 44-year-old Florida resident and former Detroit Red Wings fan favorite Darren McCarty walked up to the man he famously manhandled during a game against the Colorado Avalanche 20 years ago at Joe Louis Arena.

“Hey, brother,” McCarty said as the two shook hands and gave each other a man hug.

The autograph show’s promoter, Joe Morgan, a Troy police officer, previously had the two sign together in 2011 and 2012. They hadn't met off the ice until 2010, when they taped an interview in Toronto.

“Darren was looking forward to seeing Claude again,” Morgan said. “In 2011, they were a little standoffish, but they get along great.”

McCarty said: “I hated Claude as a hockey player, but the player and the man are not the same. He’s a really good guy.”

The feeling is mutual for Lemieux, 51.

“I always knew Darren was a really good guy and a good teammate,” he said. “When I was with Dallas, I remember reading about his personal struggles and I told him, ‘I am rooting for you.’ He seemed a bit surprised, but I meant every word.”

For the next 2 1/2 hours March 11, the two sat next to each other as a few hundred hockey fans got pucks, posters and photos signed.

Nearly all of the photos depicted McCarty hitting Lemieux in the “turtle” position during a fight in 1997, at the height of the Wings vs. Avs rivalry. “How many other people would sign a photo of themselves if that had been them?” Morgan asked. “I wouldn’t have.”