McCarty spent much of his childhood in the small town of Leamington, Ontario, playing for the Southpoint Capitals (OMHA) minor teams.

One of McCarty's most infamous moments was in the famous "Fight Night at the Joe" on March 26, 1997, where a massive brawl broke out between the Colorado Avalanche and Red Wings.

In the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs, McCarty registered his first hat-trick in Game One of the Western Conference Finals against the Colorado Avalanche's Patrick Roy.

[5] On his Griffins debut at Van Andel Arena, he tallied a hat trick and added an assist to power Grand Rapids to a 6–3 win over the Lake Erie Monsters.

The Red Wings eventually won the Stanley Cup in June 2008, McCarty's fourth championship with the team.

On February 24, 2009, the Detroit Red Wings reassigned McCarty to the Grand Rapids Griffins, after being activated from the injured reserve list.

Later, American Jewelry and Loan owners Les and Seth Gold and truTV hired McCarty to do some cameo appearances on the show.

He broadcast weekly from Radio for One Studios featuring guests to discuss topics ranging from hockey to music to life's journey to legalization of cannabis.

The "Grind Time with Darren McCarty" team consist of his Co-Host Perry Vellucci and Executive Producer / Business Manager Nick Antonucci, which has joined Woodward Sports Network in Birmingham, MI as of January 2021.

The Good Hands (John Skyler and Jason Hoch) and Bully Ray triple powerbombed McCarty through a table.

He was announced as the special guest enforcer for Bully Ray and Steve Maclin vs. PCO and Scott D'Amore tag team match.

[10] McCarty's father, Craig, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of the bone marrow and blood, in 1995.

During the early 2000s he was part of an investigative journalism piece for Rob Wolchek of WJBK-TV Fox 2 News in Detroit, Michigan, in which a self-proclaimed masseuse fabricated family ties to McCarty in an attempt to further garner clientele from the local area while practicing without any certifications.

During the offseason, McCarty is the lead singer for hard rock band "Grinder" which has been in hiatus with the sudden passing of their bass player and friend, James B. Anders from cardiomyopathy.

McCarty's autobiography, My Last Fight: The True Story of a Hockey Rock Star, was released on December 1, 2013, by Triumph Books.