Former North Stars All-Star winger Tom McCarthy dies at 61

Tom McCarthy, an All-Star left winger who played seven seasons for the North Stars but whose life story was defined by redemption after serving prison time, died Wednesday.

He was 61 and living in Cuburna, Mexico, a small town north of Merida on the Yucatan Peninsula where he ran a restaurant with his wife, Tina. He had an aortic aneurysm that ruptured, and he died during surgery, a family member confirmed.

"He had a great personality, everybody liked him because he was such an easygoing, fun-loving guy," said former North Stars General Manager Lou Nanne.

McCarthy, a Toronto native, was a first-round pick (10th overall) in 1979 by the North Stars and jumped right to the NHL.

"Until that time, you had to be 20 years to be drafted," Nanne said. "He's the guy who challenged the league and he was going to court for the right-to-work rule. His agent was Art Kaminsky and we had to move the draft age from 20 to 18 because of him."

McCarthy had 146 goals in seven seasons in Minnesota, including 39 in 1983-84 when he was chosen for the All-Star Game while playing on a line with center Neal Broten and right winger Dino Ciccarelli.

Broten joined the North Stars at the end of the 1980-81 season after winning the Hobey Baker Award for the Gophers.

"The first person to come over and shake my hand and show me around the locker room was Tommy McCarthy,'' Broten said. "He was the best guy, the kindest person you were going to find.''

McCarthy was traded to Boston in 1986 for two draft picks and had 30 goals for the Bruins that season.

The McCarthy family had a popular fish and chips restaurant, McCarthy's: Just for the Halibut, in Minneapolis during his tenure with the Stars.

Six years after McCarthy's injury-marred hockey career — he also entered rehab because of alcoholism — ended in 1994 he was arrested and ultimately sentenced to more than five years in prison for driving a truck full of marijuana from California to Minnesota.

After his release, he devoted much of his time to helping teenagers, coaching hockey in Canada.

"It changed him into being more concerned about what you can do and what you can't do. It made him more diligent about doing the right thing," Nanne said. "He just was such an easygoing guy and didn't realize — or maybe didn't want to realize — there are certain things you just can't do."

At the North Stars' alumni game at TCF Bank Stadium in 2016 he told the Star Tribune that he started organized hockey games while in prison, telling officials, "I'm not putting a weapon in their hand. I'll be the ref, the player, the organizer. I'll do everything. He said, 'One bit of trouble and it's gone.' That never happened."

With that, McCarthy discovered his future.

"Teaching life skills to kids, and we use hockey as a venue," he said. "I teach accountability, responsibility. I think that's why I was put here on Earth and ultimately what gives me satisfaction. You're always good inside, but unfortunately some people get drawn into doing bad things."

McCarthy was a head coach for three different teams in Ontario junior leagues, and also coached briefly in Romania.

"This is a sad day for me, to hear he's gone, and way too young," Ciccarelli said.

Patrick Reusse contributed to this story.