Namun, Draper tidak menampik bahwa ketegangan kolektif malam itu justru mempercepat proses pematangan mental juara seluruh anggota skuad.
"But I know that it certainly didn’t hurt," cetus Draper.
Mantan pemain Red Wings lainnya, Brendan Shanahan, yang juga pernah menjadi rekan setim Lemieux saat di New Jersey Devils, memberikan perspektif berbeda mengenai sisi humanis Lemieux di luar arena.
"For people that played with him, you definitely saw a different side to him when he wasn’t on the ice," ujar Shanahan.
Shanahan mengaku sangat menghormati keputusan Lemieux untuk membangun kembali hubungan baik dan merajut tali persahabatan yang kuat bersama McCarty setelah masa pensiun.
"Probably what I appreciate the most, and it doesn’t surprise me one bit, was that he was a really good friend to Darren McCarty when their careers were over and wanted to make sure that that relationship was a good one and a strong one.
It’s weird to say my fondest memory is him befriending (an opponent) but it just says so much about Claude.
Darren is famous in Detroit for that one play," pungkas Shanahan.
Setelah pensiun sepenuhnya dari NHL pada 2009 bersama San Jose Sharks di usia 43 tahun, Lemieux beralih profesi menjadi agen pemain hoki profesional.
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Melalui agensinya, dia mengelola karier beberapa talenta muda dan bintang NHL saat ini, termasuk bek Detroit Red Wings Moritz Seider serta penjaga gawang Carolina Hurricanes Frederik Andersen.
