Sandy McCarthy

Last updated
Sandy McCarthy
Born (1972-06-15) June 15, 1972 (age 53)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 235 lb (107 kg; 16 st 11 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for Calgary Flames
Tampa Bay Lightning
Philadelphia Flyers
Carolina Hurricanes
New York Rangers
Boston Bruins
NHL draft 52nd overall, 1991
Calgary Flames
Playing career 19922004

Sandy McCarthy (born June 15, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins.

Contents

Playing career

McCarthy grew up playing minor hockey in the Barrie Minor Hockey Association with the Flyers rep program. He began playing hockey in the Georgian Bay Junior C Hockey League with the Midland Centennials and the Central Junior A Hockey League for the Hawkesbury Hawks.

In May 1989, McCarthy was selected by the Niagara Falls Thunder in the 11th round (163rd overall) of the OHL Priority Selection. After not being signed by the Thunder, McCarthy's rights were waived to QMJHL Laval Titan where as a power forward, starred for 3 years - including a trip to the Memorial Cup in Hamilton in 1990.

McCarthy was selected by the Calgary Flames in the third round (52nd overall) of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. Following his junior career, his next stop was during the 1992–93 season for the IHL's Salt Lake Golden Eagles. Throughout his career with the Flames he played the role as the enforcer, with many major fights. [1]

While playing in the NHL, McCarthy became well known for incidents surrounding racial slurs. In the year 1998, McCarthy was accused of racial insensitivity in the form of gestures against Black-Canadian player Peter Worrell. [2] Along with teammate Darcy Tucker, allegations were denied and the victim, Worrell, also confirmed he had not seen or heard any racial insults made towards him from either of the Tampa Bay players. McCarthy stated that growing up half aboriginal and half black, he would "never go there" because he had to go through racial taunts growing up. [2] This incident occurred during a game against the Florida Panthers while McCarthy was with Tampa Bay Lightning in 1998.

The following season in 1999, McCarthy was playing for the Philadelphia Flyers when he stated that Toronto Maple Leafs player Tie Domi made racial slurs towards him. Domi insisted this was a false accusation against him and went on to say he had no respect for McCarthy and would never partake in a fight with him. An NHL investigation was also conducted that reinforced Domi's denial. [3]

As his time in the NHL progressed, he switched from his role as a power forward in junior hockey to more of a pressure player, offensively as well as defensively. [1]

McCarthy played in Calgary for five years before being traded, in 1998, to the Tampa Bay Lightning, for a short stay. His next stop was with the Philadelphia Flyers for the next two seasons then a brief stint for the Carolina Hurricanes. McCarthy then moved on to the New York Rangers in August 2000 where he scored a career high 11 goals. The next season, he scored a career high in points with 23.

One of his more infamous fights happened while a member of the New York Rangers. In a game on November 8, 2001, against the New York Islanders, McCarthy challenged defenceman Eric Cairns to a fight which Cairns refused. Later in the shift, McCarthy scored and as McCarthy celebrated, Cairns gave him a jab to the jaw, which led to a fight between Cairns and Steve McKenna. While Cairns was in the penalty box, he was called chicken by Theoren Fleury who flapped his arms like a chicken to suggest that Cairns was afraid to fight McCarthy, who flexed his biceps and looked at Cairns. [4] The next time the two teams played against each other on December 21, 2001 Cairns fought McCarthy and beat him. [5]

McCarthy signed with the Boston Bruins during the summer of 2003 then was claimed off waivers at the 2004 trade deadline by the Rangers.

In 2012, McCarthy was inducted into the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame in Barrie, Ontario. [6]

In his 735 games, 15 season NHL career, McCarthy recorded 72 goals, 76 assists and 1554 penalty minutes. [7] In his 11 seasons in the NHL he made just over 7 million dollars, increasing his yearly amount each year he played. [8]

Coaching career

After 15 seasons in the NHL, McCarthy changed his focus from professional hockey to becoming an assistant head coach with the Woodstock Slammers, a Junior A team in New Brunswick. [9] Andrew McCain, President of the Junior A team stated McCarthy was a "motivator who had strong beliefs in detection and discipline" which would help the team reach their goal of making it to the Royal Bank cup. [9] In 2015, McCarthy became a part of the coaching staff of the team and later became the head coach. [10]

Personal life

McCarthy's father is Black, while his mother is a white woman from Newfoundland. [11] He claims that his mother also has Mi'kmaq ancestry. [12] [13] [14]

Born in Toronto, McCarthy moved to Barrie, Ontario as a young boy and lived across the street from the rink in Allandale. [15] He now lives in Woodstock, New Brunswick. He was previously the head coach of the Campbellton Tigers of the Maritime Hockey League but left in September 2021 to focus on his personal health. He was replaced as Head Coach by Charles Leblanc. [16]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1987–88Midland Centennials GBJHL 1821370
1988–89 Hawkesbury Hawks CJHL 4241115139
1989–90 Laval Titan QMJHL 651011212691433660
1990–91 Laval TitanQMJHL6821194029713651167
1991–92 Laval TitanQMJHL62395190326845981
1992–93 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 77182038220
1993–94 Calgary Flames NHL 795510173700034
1994–95 Calgary FlamesNHL37538101601117
1995–96 Calgary FlamesNHL759716173400010
1996–97 Calgary FlamesNHL33358113
1997–98 Calgary FlamesNHL528513170
1997–98 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL1405571
1998–99 Tampa Bay LightningNHL675712135
1998–99 Philadelphia Flyers NHL130112560110
1999–2000 Philadelphia FlyersNHL586511111
1999–2000 Carolina Hurricanes NHL130009
2000–01 New York Rangers NHL81111021171
2001–02 New York RangersNHL82101323171
2002–03 New York RangersNHL82691581
2003–04 Boston Bruins NHL3731428
2003–04New York RangersNHL131012
NHL totals736727614815342302261

Transactions

References

  1. 1 2 "Hockey Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2017-09-05. Retrieved 2017-03-26.
  2. 1 2 "N.H.L.: Notebook -- Tampa Bay; N.H.L. Investigates Alleged Racial Slurs". The New York Times. Associated Press. 1998-10-07. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  3. "Tie Domi vs Sandy McCarthy". Pension Plan Puppets. 2011-08-16. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  4. Dellapina, John (December 21, 2001). "Rangers Issue Fightin' Words McCarthy, Fleury Target Isles' Cairns". NY Daily News . New York. Retrieved November 28, 2001.
  5. Caldwell, Dave (December 22, 2001). "Hockey; Cairns Doesn't Back Down, and Neither Do Isles". The New York Times . New York. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  6. "Free Press Online Sports". Hornets coach inducted in Barrie Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  7. "Barrie Sports Hall of Fame Society" . Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  8. "Salary History" . Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Slammers Hire Assistant Head Coach". slammershockey.ca/news.
  10. "Banquet Held". slammershockey.ca/news.
  11. "NHL faces another racial accusation". Saipan Tribune. 29 April 1999. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  12. "N.H.L.: Notebook -- Tampa Bay; N.H.L. Investigates Alleged Racial Slurs". The New York Times . 1998-10-07.
  13. Rhoden, William C. (1999-04-28). "Sports of The Times; Hockey Pioneer Takes the Sport to Another Level". The New York Times .
  14. "Native Hockey". 2015-10-25. Archived from the original on 2022-01-10. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  15. Pereira, Gene (2 October 2012). "Former NHLer says he'll always respect enforcers". The Barrie Examiner. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  16. "Sandy McCarthy to put career on hold for Health Reasons". Campbellton Tigers. September 9, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  17. "1998 NHL Transactions: Calgary Flames, Traded". Fox Sports . September 4, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  18. El-Bashir, Tarik (March 21, 1999). "N.H.L.: Trade Roundup -- Islanders; 3 Veterans Are Traded As Rebuilding Begins". The New York Times . Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  19. "Hurricanes Acquire Sandy McCarthy From Philadelphia". nhl.com. Carolina Hurricanes. March 14, 2000. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  20. "Hockey; Rangers Trade for Toughness". nhl.com. The New York Times. August 4, 2000. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  21. "NHL Player Search: Sandy McCarthy". hhof.com. Hockey Hall of Fame. September 4, 2017. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  22. "Rangers' dump aids Senators' quest". espn.com. ESPN. March 9, 2004. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
Preceded by Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award Winner
2000–01 NHL season through
2001–02 NHL season
Succeeded by