DETROIT (AP) - Calgary Flames winger Darren McCarty, a former Red Wing who was one of Detroit's most popular professional athletes in recent years, has filed for bankruptcy.
In documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit, McCarty listed assets of $1.9 million US and debts of $6.2 million.
In addition to at least $185,000 owed to casinos in Detroit and Las Vegas, he listed debts to banks, credit card companies, friends, utilities, law firms and a roofing company.
McCarty, 34, said in court filings that many of his assets are tied up in insurance polices, his NHL pension and $490,000 in business loans that are unlikely to be repaid.
McCarty played 11 seasons for the Red Wings. The defenceman's combativeness, charitable work and sideline as a rock guitarist made him a fan favourite. McCarty also scored the winning goal in the clinching game in 1997 as Detroit won its first Stanley Cup in 42 years.
The Red Wings bought out McCarty's contract in July after a lockout of NHL players cancelled the 2004-2005 season. He currently plays for the Flames and has seven goals and six assists in 65 games this season.
McCarty listed his income as $2.1 million in 2003, $1.5 million in 2004 and $193,959 in 2005. According to court documents, McCarty received $538,729 from the Red Wings when they bought out his contract, but his ex-wife Cheryl received 75 per cent of that - $404,046.
Marty Fried, McCarty's lawyer, blamed the bankruptcy on last season's NHL lockout, the divorce that was finalized in February 2005 and a smaller contract with the Flames.
"He's not making the money he used to make," Fried told the Detroit Free Press in a report published Wednesday. He said McCarty now makes about $850,000 (The NHL Players' Association lists his current salary at $800,000).
Nothing indicates McCarty's financial problems are linked to the McCarty Cancer Foundation, the Oakland County-based charity he and his family founded in honour of his father, Craig, who died from multiple myeloma in 1999. McCarty serves as an unpaid director of the foundation, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years.
The Detroit Free Press said it could not reach McCarty for comment.