Eric Lindros
Born	(1973-02-28) February 28, 1973 (age 39) London, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	245 lb (111 kg; 17 st 7 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Right
Played for	Philadelphia Flyers (1992–2000) New York Rangers (2001–2004) Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–2006) Dallas Stars (2006–2007)
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	1st overall, 1991 Quebec Nordiques
Playing career	1992–2007
Website	http://www.ericlindros.ca

Eric Bryan Lindros (pronounced /ˈlɪndrɒs/; born February 28, 1973) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. Lindros played junior hockey in the OHL for the Oshawa Generals prior to being selected first overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques. Lindros refused to play for the Nordiques and was eventually traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in June 1992 for a package of players and draft picks including Peter Forsberg. During his OHL career, Lindros led the Generals to a Memorial Cup victory in 1990. Prior to being drafted in 1991, Lindros captured the Red Tilson Trophy as the Most Outstanding Player in the OHL, and also was named the CHL Player of the Year.

Lindros started his NHL career with the Flyers during the 1992–93 season. Lindros was an exemplary power forward, and averaged more than a point per game. His hard-nosed style caused him to miss significant time with injuries, and he had many problems with concussions. Lindros captured the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award after the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season. In August 2001, Lindros joined the New York Rangers via trade. He signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2005–06 NHL season. He finished his career in 2006–07 with the Dallas Stars.

In international play, Lindros represented Canada at the World Junior Championships three times (1990, 1991, and 1992), winning gold medals in 1990 and 1991. Eric Lindros is Canada's all time points leader at the WJC with 31 points, 6 points ahead of Jordan Eberle and Ryan Ellis. He has also represented Canada at the World Hockey Championships, leading the team in scoring at the 1993 tournament. In Olympic play, Lindros represented Canada three times (1992, 1998, and 2002), winning a silver medal in 1992 and a gold medal in 2002.

Personal life[link]

The oldest son of Carl Lindros and Bonnie Roszell-Lindros.^[1] Eric has Swedish heritage. The name "Lindros" means "Rose of the Linden tree". His great grandfather Axel immigrated to Canada from small village Bredaryd in Sweden, and Eric is the third generation of the Lindros family to be born in Canada. His father Carl Lindros received a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario (where he played football, well enough to be drafted 30th overall by the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1970 CFL College Draft), and became a Chartered Accountant. His mother Bonnie is a registered nurse. He has one brother Brett and one sister Robin.^[1]

His younger brother Brett Lindros played for the New York Islanders and retired early on May 1, 1996 due to post-concussion syndrome

The book "Fire and Ice" published in October 1991 by HarperCollins Publishers chronicled the life and early hockey career of Lindros.

The Lindros family are close friends with Goldie Hawn-Kurt Russell family, passionate hockey fans who are nearby neighbors at the Lindros' vacation cottage in Muskoka, Ontario.^[2]

Hockey career[link]

Junior career (1989–1992)[link]

As a teenage power forward playing minor hockey, Lindros became nationally famous both for his scoring feats and his ability to physically dominate players older than himself. He attended Monarch Park and later St. Michael's College School in Toronto with his brother and fellow hockey player, Brett Lindros. Both brothers at one time or another (Eric in 1988–89) played for the school's Metro Junior "B" St. Michael's Buzzers before moving up to the OHL. Lindros's play made him the most highly valued amateur player in North America and he was often nicknamed "The Next One", a reference to Wayne Gretzky's moniker "The Great One".

Throughout his career, Lindros has been tagged with various other nicknames, including "The Big E", which was originally the nickname of the USS Enterprise, the famous World War II aircraft carrier. The hype around Lindros during his early career led to an exclusive deal with sports card manufacturer SCORE. Attempting to leverage this arrangement as much as possible, he was even featured on a baseball card showing him as a third baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays, although the closest he came to a professional baseball career was taking batting practice one day with the Blue Jays.^[3]

Lindros refused to sign with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds after being drafted from St. Michael's.^[4]

He played parts of three seasons for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) from 1990 to 1992. During that time, he scored 180 goals, 200 assists, 380 points and had 437 penalty minutes in 157 games played. Lindros helped lead the Generals to the 1990 J. Ross Robertson Cup, and a 1990 Memorial Cup victory. During the 1990–91 OHL season, Lindros won the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as top scorer, the Red Tilson Trophy as MVP, the CHL Player of the Year award, and the CHL Top Draft Prospect Award.

On March 6, 2008, the Oshawa Generals retired his #88, just the second number to be retired by the franchise, and it was declared Eric Lindros Day in Oshawa.^[5]

1991 NHL Entry Draft[link]

Lindros's entry to the National Hockey League proceeded in much the same manner. Lindros was selected first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. Lindros had signaled in advance that he would never play for the Nordiques, citing distance, lack of marketing potential, and having to speak French; the team selected him anyway. The Nordiques president publicly announced that they would make Lindros the centrepiece of their franchise turnaround, and refused to trade Lindros, saying that he would not have a career in the NHL as long as he held out. Because of Lindros' popularity and hype, it is alleged that the NHL President intervened to get the Nordiques to trade him, as it would otherwise damage the image of the league.^{[citation needed]} While he awaited a trade, Lindros spent the time playing with the Oshawa Generals and also participated in the 1992 Winter Olympics, winning a Silver Medal with Team Canada.

In 1992, the Nordiques worked out trades for him with both the New York Rangers, and Philadelphia Flyers. Eventually an arbitrator, Larry Bertuzzi (granduncle of Todd Bertuzzi),^[6] ruled in favour of the Flyers, for whom Lindros played from 1992 to 2000, most of the time as the team's captain.^[7]

Many consider this trade a key reason that the Colorado Avalanche (the new name of the Nordiques after they relocated before the 1995-96 season), went on to be an NHL powerhouse. They received in the trade the rights to eventual Hart Trophy winner Peter Forsberg, as well as Ron Hextall, Chris Simon, Mike Ricci, Kerry Huffman, Steve Duchesne, a 1st round selection (Jocelyn Thibault) in 1993, a 1st round selection (later traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, later traded to the Washington Capitals—Nolan Baumgartner) in 1994, and $15,000,000 cash. Since the trade, the Avalanche have won eight division titles and two Stanley Cup championships, due in part to the play of Forsberg, and the later addition of Patrick Roy, whom the Avalanche received in a later package deal that included Thibault.^[8]

The trade between the Nordiques and the Rangers that was ruled invalid by the arbitrator had Lindros being traded for Doug Weight, Tony Amonte, Alexei Kovalev, John Vanbiesbrouck, three first round draft picks (1993, 1994 & 1995) and $12 million.

Philadelphia Flyers[link]

With his imposing physical strength and playmaking ability, Lindros established himself as the top player on a Flyers team that had perennially been in contention but always fell short. His time in Philadelphia would see him score points at a phenomenal rate (for much of his first 5 seasons in the NHL, Lindros hovered around 4th all-time in points per game) and become one of the most feared and dominating players in the NHL. In September 1994, Lindros succeeded Kevin Dineen as Flyers captain. Along with John LeClair and Mikael Renberg, he played on the dreaded "Legion of Doom" line. He scored over 40 goals in each of his first two seasons and won the Hart Trophy as MVP in the lockout-shortened season of 1995 by scoring 29 goals and 41 assists in 46 games and leading the Flyers to their first playoff appearance in 6 years.

Lindros led the Flyers to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals, handily defeating Pittsburgh, Buffalo and the New York Rangers in 5 games apiece. But in the Finals the Flyers were swept in four games by the Detroit Red Wings; Lindros' only goal came with 14 seconds left in the 3rd period of Game 4. Lindros as a franchise player was expected to carry the team, but he had not lived up to expectations nor had he shown leadership during the Finals series.^[9][10]

In 1998, Lindros, only 25 years old, was ranked number 54 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players of all time. The only player of comparable age was No. 37-ranked Jaromir Jagr, who was 26 at the time.

Lindros' relationship with Flyers general manager Bobby Clarke soon deteriorated. He and Clarke feuded in the media, with Clarke questioning his toughness; Lindros spent many games on the injured reserve and suffered a series of concussions, the first in 1998 from a hit delivered by Pittsburgh's Darius Kasparaitis that sidelined him for 18 games.^[11][12] Lindros would suffer a 2nd concussion in January 1999 that sidelined him for 2 games. During an April 1, 1999 game against the Nashville Predators, Lindros suffered what was diagnosed as a rib injury. Later that night, the teammate he was sharing a hotel room with, Keith Jones, discovered Lindros lying in a tub, pale and cold. In a call to the Flyers, the trainer was told to put Lindros on a plane that was returning to Philadelphia with injured teammate Mark Recchi. But Jones insisted that Lindros be taken to a nearby hospital and it was discovered Lindros had a collapsed lung caused by internal bleeding of his chest wall. Lindros' father wrote the Flyers a letter in which he stated that if the trainer had followed team orders, Eric would be dead, a statement supported by the doctors who treated him in Nashville.

The 1999–2000 season would be Lindros' last as a Flyer. Having suffered his 2nd concussion of the season (4th overall) in March, Lindros criticized the team's trainers for failing to diagnose a concussion as he played with symptoms following a hit he suffered in a game against Boston 2 weeks prior. Clarke then stripped Lindros of the captaincy for his actions. Lindros sat out the remainder of the regular season and suffered another concussion while rehabilitating for a return to the lineup. Lindros ultimately returned for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against New Jersey, Lindros scored the lone goal in a 2-1 Flyers loss, and in Game 7 Lindros suffered yet another concussion after a hit by New Jersey defenseman Scott Stevens. The Flyers lost Game 7, 2-1 and the series despite leading 3 games to 1, and Lindros became a restricted free agent during the off-season. He refused to accept a 2-way qualifying offer with a minor league provision from the Flyers, who still owned his rights. After Lindros was cleared to play in December, the Flyers refused to deal his rights to the Toronto Maple Leafs, as he preferred, and Lindros sat out the entire 2000–01 season.

New York Rangers[link]

Flyers GM Bobby Clarke eventually traded Lindros to the New York Rangers on August 20, 2001 for Jan Hlavac, Kim Johnsson, Pavel Brendl, and a 2003 3rd-round draft choice (Stefan Ruzicka). He would play the next three seasons in New York.

In 2001–02, Lindros averaged a little over a point a game with 37 goals and 36 assists for 73 points in 72 games. His impressive start also led to his seventh and final All-Star selection, but due to an injury he was unable to participate and was replaced by teammate Mike York. Though 2002–03 was the first injury-free season of his career, he struggled to match his previous season, only collecting 53 points in 81 games. In 2003–04, Lindros' eighth concussion limited him to just 39 games, though he did collect 32 points. He again became an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Toronto Maple Leafs[link]

On August 11, 2005, after the NHL labor dispute had cancelled the 2004–05 season, Lindros signed a one-year, $1.55 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2005–06 NHL season. After a steady start to his tenure with Toronto in which he recorded 22 points in 32 games, Lindros suffered a tear of a ligament in his left wrist against the Dallas Stars on December 10, 2005. After a 27-game absence, Lindros returned to the Toronto lineup on February 28, 2006, against the Washington Capitals. His return was brief, however, as he re-injured his wrist while taking a slapshot in a game against the Ottawa Senators on March 4, 2006, effectively ending his season. He had surgery on the wrist at the Hand and Upper Limb Centre in London, Ontario two days after the game.

Dallas Stars and retirement[link]

Lindros signed a one-year contract for the 2006–07 season with the Dallas Stars on July 17, 2006.^[13] He would play in 49 regular season games collecting 26 points, and three games in the playoffs.

Lindros officially announced his retirement on November 8, 2007, in London, Ontario, at the age of 34.^[14]

Career achievements[link]

• 4th fastest player in NHL history to score 300 points (210 GP) behind Wayne Gretzky (159), Mario Lemieux (186) & Peter Stastny (186)
• 4th fastest player in NHL history to score 400 points (277 GP) behind Wayne Gretzky (197), Mario Lemieux (240) & Peter Stastny (247)
• 5th fastest player in NHL history to score 500 points (352 GP) behind Wayne Gretzky (234), Mario Lemieux (287) & Peter Stastny (322) & Mike Bossy (349)
• 6th fastest player in NHL history to score 600 points (429 GP) behind Wayne Gretzky (273), Mario Lemieux (323) & Peter Stastny (394), Mike Bossy (400) & Jari Kurri (419)

Post-playing career[link]

On the day of his retirement, November 8, 2007, it was also announced that Lindros had donated five million dollars to the London Health Sciences Centre. This donation supports programs such as the Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic, and is one of the largest personal donations by a Canadian sports figure.^[15]

On November 11, 2007, three days after his retirement, the NHL Players Association appointed Lindros to the newly created position of NHLPA ombudsman. Lindros had been involved with the organization throughout his career.^[16] Lindros cut ties with the NHL Players' Association on February 3, 2009, resigning as ombudsman after 15 months on the job.^[17]

On May 9, 2010, he along with his mother Bonnie, supermodel/actress Monika Schnarre, and a few other Canadian notables will be helping Habitat for Humanity Toronto by recognizing Mother's Day by building homes.^[18] On December 31, 2011, he played in the Winter Classic Alumni Game between the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Transactions[link]

• June 22, 1991 – Quebec Nordiques draft Lindros with the 1st-overall pick in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.
• June 30, 1992 – Traded by the Quebec Nordiques to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Peter Forsberg, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, Ron Hextall, Chris Simon, Philadelphia's 1993 1st-round draft choice (Jocelyn Thibault), Philadelphia's 1994 1st-round draft choice (Nolan Baumgartner) and $15,000,000.
• August 20, 2001 – Traded by the Philadelphia Flyers to the New York Rangers in exchange for Jan Hlavac, Kim Johnsson, Pavel Brendl and the Rangers' 2003 3rd-round draft choice (Stefan Ruzicka).
• August 11, 2005 – Signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
• July 17, 2006 – Signed as a free agent with the Dallas Stars.
• November 8, 2007 – Officially announced his retirement from the NHL at age 34.

Awards[link]

Junior[link]

Professional[link]

Career statistics[link]

Regular season and playoffs[link]

International[link]

All-Star Games[link]

International play[link]

Played for Canada in:

• 1990 World Junior Championships (gold medal)
• 1991 World Junior Championships (gold medal)
• 1991 Canada Cup (championship)
• 1992 World Junior Championships
• 1992 Winter Olympics (silver medal)
• 1993 World Championships
• 1996 World Cup of Hockey
• 1998 Winter Olympics
• 2002 Winter Olympics (gold medal)

Quotes[link]

By Lindros[link]

• "Right now my focus is the 'PA work, I'm not really concerned about the rest of it. But the last couple of years have been pretty frustrating in terms of not getting through without being injury-free. It's just frustrating."^[20]

• "My decision to retire from professional hockey is something that I have been considering for some time and did not come easily. I will miss the day-to-day activity of being a member of a team and the camaraderie that I developed with my teammates will never be forgotten. I played with the best, I played against the best — it was a blast. It really truly was. I enjoyed myself immensely."^[21]

About Lindros[link]

• "He had it all: size, strength and finesse, It is unfortunate injuries cut his time in the NHL short, but he had a great career and left his mark on the game." —John LeClair.^[21]
• "Yes, based on his ability to play the game and based on his contributions as a player, I think you have to separate all the crap that went on. Particularly when he played for the Flyers, it was just outstanding, dominant hockey — the first of the huge, big men with small man's skill." —Bobby Clarke, on whether Lindros should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame.^[22]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Eric Lindros's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Eric Lindros at Hockey-Reference.com
• Eric Lindros's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Eric Lindros's NHL player profile
• Eric Lindros at TSN.ca
• October 2011 Interview with The Hockey Writers
• "Great Expectations Haunt Talented Lindros", ESPN.com, Bob Carter.
• Lindros snubs Quebec (CBC video)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2009)

Don Cherry
Don Cherry at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Born	(1934-02-05) February 5, 1934 (age 78) Kingston, ON, CAN
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Hershey Bears Boston Bruins Springfield Indians Trois-Rivières Lions Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers Sudbury Wolves Spokane Comets Rochester Americans Tulsa Oilers Vancouver Canucks
Playing career	1954–1972

Donald Stewart "Grapes" Cherry (commonly referred to as Don Cherry) (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian ice hockey commentator for CBC Television. Cherry co-hosts the "Coach's Corner" intermission segment (with Ron MacLean) on the long-running Canadian sports program Hockey Night in Canada, and has also worked for ESPN in the United States as a commentator during the latter stages of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He is known for his outspoken manner, flamboyant dress, and staunch patriotism.^[1]

Prior to his broadcast career, Cherry was a professional hockey player and National Hockey League coach. He played one game with the Boston Bruins, and later coached them for 5 seasons, starting with Bobby Orr's final 93 games as a Bruin. He is also well known as an author, syndicated radio commentator for the Sportsnet Radio Network,^[2] creator of the Rock'em Sock'em Hockey video series, and celebrity endorser. Cherry was voted as the seventh greatest Canadian on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's television special, The Greatest Canadian. In March 2010, his life was dramatized in a two-part Canadian Broadcasting Corporation made-for-television movie, Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story, based on a script written by his son, Timothy Cherry. In March 2012 CBC aired a sequel, The Wrath of Grapes: The Don Cherry Story II.

Biography[link]

Early life and family[link]

Cherry was born in Kingston, Ontario to Delmar (Del) and Maude Cherry.^[3] His paternal grandfather, John T. (Jack) Cherry, was an original member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and a Great Lakes ship captain. His maternal grandfather, Richard Palamountain, was a British orphan of Cornish parentage who was emigrated to Canada as one of the Home Children. The name Palamountain is a corruption of the Cornish language 'pol-mun-tyr' meaning 'pool by the mineral land'.^[4] Palamountain was also a veteran of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.^[5] Cherry's father Del was an amateur athlete and worked as an electrician with the Canadian Steamship Lines.^[3] On the March 15, 2008 edition of Coach's Corner, Cherry wore the green and gold colours of County Kerry, Ireland. In his segment following the game, he claimed ancestry from that region. Cherry's younger brother, Dick Cherry played hockey at various levels, including two seasons in the National Hockey League with the Philadelphia Flyers.^[6]

In his first year with the Bears, he met his future wife Rosemarie (Rose) Cherry née Madelyn Martini (born 1935 in Hershey, Pennsylvania). Rose was hugely influential in Don's life—because of Don's minor-league hockey lifestyle, they moved 53 times; they rarely had decent housing or furnishings, and Don was often away playing during major events, such as the birth of their daughter and first child, Cindy Cherry.^[7] Six years after Cindy's birth, Rose gave birth to son Tim Cherry.^[8] When Tim needed a kidney transplant at age 13, Cindy donated one of hers. The two currently live across the street from each other, around the corner from their father, in Mississauga.^[9]

Rose died of liver cancer on June 1, 1997 and in honour of her perseverance, Don created Rose Cherry's Home for Kids.^[7] Her name has motivated Cherry to always wear a rose on his lapel. Cherry contributed in developing Rose Cherry's Home for Kids which has since been renamed to The Darling Home for Kids, in Milton, Ontario.^[10] The Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario is located on "Rose Cherry Place," a street named for his late wife.

In 1999, Don married his second wife, Luba.^[11]

Playing career[link]

Cherry played junior hockey with the Barrie Flyers and the Windsor Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey Association. Cherry won the Memorial Cup as a defenceman with Barrie in 1953. He dropped out of high school, and in 1954 he signed with the American Hockey League's (AHL) Hershey Bears.^[12]

Cherry had a long playing career in professional minor hockey, and in 1955 played his only NHL game when the Boston Bruins called him up during the playoffs. According to Cherry, a baseball injury suffered in the off season kept him from making the NHL despite his almost 20 years playing in the minor leagues. He retired as a player in 1970.^[12] Cherry won the Calder Cup championship (AHL) four times—1960 with the Springfield Indians, and 1965, 1966, 1968 with Rochester Americans. He also won the Lester Patrick Cup, the Western Hockey League Championship, with Vancouver Canucks in 1969.

Career statistics[link]

Coaching career[link]

After the end of his playing career, Cherry struggled for a time as a Cadillac salesman and a construction worker. He worked as a painter earning $2 per hour.^[13]

In the middle of the 1971–72 season, Cherry became the coach of the American Hockey League's Rochester Americans and won Coach of the Year. The following year, the title of General Manager was added. In his third season behind the bench, Cherry was voted the AHL's "Coach of the Year". After his three-year stint in Rochester, he was promoted to the NHL as head coach of the Boston Bruins, a team that was coming off a successful run of two Stanley Cups and three first-place finishes, but would soon see the exit of superstars Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito.^[14]

Cherry quickly developed a reputation for being an eccentric, flamboyant coach who strongly encouraged physical play among his players. It has been alleged he modeled the Bruins' playing style after that of his dog, Blue, a feisty bull terrier. While the team had previously been known for Orr and Esposito who were highly skilled scorers, their impending departures had Cherry remake the team with enforcers and grinders which became known as the "lunch-pail gang" (or "lunch pail A.C.") and "the Big Bad Bruins". Albeit for a brief slump until Esposito was traded to the New York Rangers for Brad Park, as Esposito disagreed with Cherry's coaching while Park would thrive under it, this approach rejuvenated the Bruins as they continued to be one of the NHL's best teams during the latter half of the 1970s, capturing the division title four straight seasons from 1975-76 through 1978-79. In the 1977–78 season, Cherry coached the Bruins team to an NHL record of 11 players with 20 goals or more on a single team. Cherry won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 1976.^[15]

The Bruins were able to defeat the rough Philadelphia Flyers twice in the playoffs under Cherry's tenure. The Bruins made the Stanley Cup finals twice, both times losing to their arch-rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, in both 1977 and 1978. In the 1979 semi-final playoff series against the Canadiens, Cherry's Bruins pushed the series to the limit but they were undone by a late penalty in the seventh game. Up by a goal with less than two minutes left in the seventh game, the Bruins were called for having too many men on the ice. The Canadiens' Guy Lafleur scored the tying goal on the subsequent power play and ultimately won the game in overtime. Montreal went on to defeat the New York Rangers for their fourth straight Cup title. Cherry, who had an uneasy relationship with Bruins General Manager Harry Sinden, was fired by the Bruins afterward.

Cherry went on to coach the Colorado Rockies the following season. Under his tenure, the Rockies adopted the motto "Come to the fights and watch a Rockies game break out!" and the slogan could be seen on billboards all over Denver in the 1979–80 season. Cherry's hiring as head coach immediately rejuvenated the ailing franchise's fortunes.

However, as he later admitted, his outspokenness and feuding with Rockies general manager Ray Miron did not endear Cherry to management. While Cherry did much to motivate the players, goaltending was still the team's weakness as Miron refused to replace Hardy Åström, whom Cherry dubbed the "The Swedish Sieve". Cherry recalled one game where his players had got ten shots on goal without scoring, but Åström then conceded a goal from the opponent's first shot and so was yanked from net. Of course, Cherry didn't help things when, after watching defenseman Mike McEwen ignore him and refuse to come off during a game, he reached over the boards and manhandled McEwen to the bench. His NHL career and the Rockies ended on a positive note when they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-0 in the final game of the season held at home. Years later, while commentating during the 2001 Stanley Cup final between the Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils (the Rockies franchise moved to New Jersey after 1982), Cherry recalled the experience of the Rockies' last game where he was wearing cowboy boots and after it ended, the Rockies players formed two lines so he could depart the ice between them while acknowledging the cheers of the crowd.

In 1983, Cherry was asked by businessman Bill Hunter, who attempted to purchase the St. Louis Blues and move them to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to coach his team in Saskatoon. However, the NHL's Board of Governors rejected the move, and the Blues remained in St. Louis.

Internationally, Cherry was an assistant coach for Team Canada at the 1976 Canada Cup and was head coach for Canada's team at the 1981 World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Cherry was the part-owner and the former coach of the Ontario Hockey League's Mississauga IceDogs. As owner and general manager, he gained notoriety by refusing to take part in the CHL import draft, and only play North American born players. The IceDogs' first three seasons were difficult ones with the team winning a total of 16 games combined. Cherry took over coaching duties in the fourth season. During Cherry's one season as head coach of the Mississauga IceDogs, the team managed 11 victories (only a slight improvement) and failed to make the playoffs for the fourth straight year. Cherry drew some criticism for his sudden decision to allow European born players onto the IceDogs line-up during the one season he coached the team.

Coaching statistics[link]

Broadcasting[link]

After his Rockies failed to qualify for the 1980 Stanley Cup playoffs, Cherry was hired as a studio analyst for CBC's playoff coverage that spring, working alongside host Dave Hodge. CBC hired him full-time in 1981 as a colour commentator, but he didn't last long in that role due to his tendency to openly cheer for one of the teams (especially the Boston Bruins or Toronto Maple Leafs). Instead, they created "Coach's Corner", a segment that appeared in the first intermission on Hockey Night in Canada, with Dave Hodge. In 1987, Hodge was replaced by Ron MacLean, with whom Cherry has been teamed ever since. For several years he also hosted his own half-hour interview show, Don Cherry's Grapevine, which began on Hamilton's CHCH-TV in the 1980s before moving to TSN. His loud, outspoken nature became notorious, and his shows are described as "game analysis, cultural commentary and playful parrying with host Ron MacLean."^[12] Cherry also hosted a syndicated weekly television show called Don Cherry's This Week in Hockey during the 1987–88 NHL season. It featured highlights from the previous week's NHL games. The highlight of each show was when Cherry awarded a Black and Decker cordless drill to the player who levied the "hit of the week" (called the "Drill of the Week" in order to tie into the cordless drill giveaway).

Cherry's commentary is usually peppered with catchphrases like "All you kids out there...," unrestrained affection for his favourite players (including Steve Yzerman and Kingston native Doug Gilmour, whom Cherry affectionately refers to as "Dougie" and once kissed on-air in a famous TV gag), and overall political incorrectness. Another trademark is his bull terrier Blue, originally a gift from the Bruins players. Some of the advice he gives is unchanging from year to year.

Cherry tends to have favourites among his many tidbits of advice. Virtually every week he spends time exhorting the evils of attempting to block a shot using only one's hockey stick (as it often causes deflections and impedes the goalie's view of the puck). Two other perennial favourites are the folly of touch icing (a rule he blamed for the premature end to Pat Peake's career) and (several years ago) bemoaning the extremely sensitive rules about crease violation. He also despises the two-minute penalty for firing the puck into the crowd from the defensive zone.

He also spends time extolling true grit, such as when, in the 1999 playoffs, a Phoenix Coyotes winger crawled off the ice after enduring a bone-shattering slap shot from St. Louis Blues defenceman Al MacInnis so that another could take his place. Usually at the end of the NHL season, his send off words in recent years have been about NHL prospects entering the NHL draft. His position is that unless a player is guaranteed to be selected in the first or second rounds, they should not physically attend the draft. The reason for this is that some players would be too disappointed if they are drafted later than expected, or worse, not at all.

Cherry returned to the news in May 2004 amid rumours that CBC would terminate his contract for Hockey Night in Canada. However, he re-signed with the network in July.

Branching out from his Hockey Night in Canada duties, Cherry began to release a series of videos called Don Cherry's Rock'Em Sock'em Hockey in 1989. The 15th anniversary video was released in 2003, with a 'Best Of' released in 2005. For the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, NBC decided to feature Cherry in its intermission coverage, a rare appearance on American television. He was partnered with Bill Clement and Brett Hull and it did not conflict with his usual role on CBC as he appeared on NBC during the second intermission.

In May 2008, ESPN announced that Cherry was joining Barry Melrose as a commentator for the remainder of the 2008 NHL Playoffs. He provided pre-game analysis for the conference finals, pre- and post-game analysis for the Stanley Cup finals, and appeared on ESPNews and ESPN Radio. ESPN also announced that he would donate his fees to the Humane Society.^[16]

Don Cherry has been criticized for comments targeting specific ethnicities such as French Canadians and Europeans and this has led to Cherry's broadcasts being put on a seven second delay by the CBC^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]}

Opinions on hockey[link]

Don Cherry is a strong advocate of a tough "Canadian" type of hockey which emphasizes physical play and a "code" of conduct among the players. He believes that fighting is an integral part of the game as it enforces respect between teams and players, as well as being popular with the public.

He has long been a champion of hardworking "journeyman" players, whom he identifies with from his time playing in the minor leagues. Don Cherry's favourite player of all time is Bobby Orr who he says is the greatest player of all time.^[29] Other favourites include Doug Gilmour, Vincent Lecavalier and Cam Neely. Cherry has criticized many players for what he considers dishonourable conduct, but perhaps none more than Ulf Samuelsson and Matt Cooke, whom he considered to be exceptionally dirty players responsible for many severe injuries.^[30][31]

Cherry has been very critical of the league's direction in recent years as it has been trying to reduce fighting and emphasize speed, and skill. Specific rules that he criticizes include the current rules for icing the puck and the instigator rule.

He is critical of elaborate celebrations by players after goals. In 2003 Cherry made headlines by criticizing then heavily publicized junior prospect Sidney Crosby for being a "hot dog" because of the way Crosby slid around on his knees after scoring. He also disapproved of a tricky behind-the-net goal the young star pulled off when a game was already out of reach for the team he scored on.^[29] He caused some controversy in his criticism of Alexander Ovechkin after he scored his 50th goal in 2009.^[32]

Political views and controversy[link]

Over his career on television, Cherry has generated significant controversy about both hockey and politics.^[9][33]

In 1989, he referred to Finnish-born Winnipeg Jets Assistant Coach Alpo Suhonen as "some kind of dog food", which triggered the threat of a lawsuit from Jets owner Barry Shenkarow.^[9]

In 2003, Cherry made comments on his CBC segment in support of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. On March 22, 2003, during Coach's Corner, a heated debate over the U.S.-led war with Iraq took place. Cherry criticized Montreal fans for booing the American national anthem before a game earlier in the week. The conversation then turned to the war when Ron MacLean said "everybody wants to know what you think". Cherry berated MacLean about being neutral on the war and strongly criticized the Canadian government for failing to support the U.S. in the war.^[34] Cherry appeared on the American radio program The Jim Rome Show the following week, stating, "You have to realize the CBC is government owned [...] You have to say the government was against [the invasion of Iraq] and I'm for it and I'm on a government program. I really thought this could be the end."^[35]

In January 2004, on the subject of visors, Cherry said on Coach's Corner: "Most of the guys that wear them are Europeans and French guys" to illustrate his claim that visor users have less respect for player safety. This statement triggered an investigation by the federal Official Languages Commissioner, and protests by French-Canadians. CBC consequently imposed a seven-second delay on Hockey Night in Canada. Later on, a study was published that proved Cherry to be partially correct: 50% of Europeans and 40% of French-Canadians wore visors, compared to 22% of North Americans born outside of Quebec, but players who wear visors committed proportionately fewer high-sticking penalties than players who do not.^[36] Cherry returned to the "Coach's Corner" for the 2005–06 NHL season without the seven-second delay.

After appearing in the Canadian House of Commons on November 7, 2006, he formally stated his support for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whom he called "a grinder and a mucker" by saying "I give a thumbs up to Stephen Harper for sure. He supports the troops and I support the troops."^[37]

On December 7, 2010, Cherry attended the inaugural meeting of Toronto City Council, where he placed the chain of office around incoming Mayor Rob Ford's neck.^[38] Cherry was asked to say a few remarks and he opened by stating “I’m wearing pink for all the pinkos out there that ride bicycles and everything, I thought I’d get it in.” He then went on to state that he had "been ripped to shreds by the left-wing pinko newspapers out there" and ended saying "And that's why I say he's gonna be the greatest mayor this city has ever, ever seen, as far as I'm concerned! And put that in your pipe, you left-wing kooks." Left-leaning councillors were critical of Cherry's speech, and the following day some of them wore pink clothing in protest, including Joe Mihevc (Ward 21, St. Paul's West) and Ana Bailão (Ward 18, Davenport) wore pink scarves while Janet Davis (Ward 31, Beaches-East York) wore a pink suit jacket.^[39] Mihevc said, "We all love Don Cherry and his comments and forcefulness in hockey games, but this is council. It’s a political arena where we make it a habit to reach out, talk to others and achieve consensus. To have that kind of, frankly, belligerence and pushing people aside, to start out this way I think is really unfortunate." Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong defended Cherry though he stated that it was "A little over the top" and that "You take it for what it is and you shrug it off and move forward." Cherry defended his comments by stating “Well, what can I tell you? Don’t invite me. You don’t invite a pit bull. If you want a pit bull, you get a pit bull.”^[40]

Greatest Canadian top ten[link]

In October 2004, the CBC program The Greatest Canadian revealed that its 'top ten' viewer-selected great Canadians included Cherry. Cherry remarked that he would have been inclined to vote for Sir John A. Macdonald (if he had lived in the same time period), who had also been a Kingston resident. He finished seventh in the final tally.^[41] Cherry is the only living member of the top 10 greatest Canadians who hasn't been awarded an Order of Canada.

Acting career[link]

As part of his fame, Cherry has also branched out into some acting roles. He was cast as Jake Nelson in the television series Power Play. Nelson was the coach of the Philadelphia team playing against the Hamilton Steelheads in the playoffs during the first season. Also, he and Ron MacLean provided voices for themselves in the animated television series Zeroman, which starred Leslie Nielsen. He also appeared on an episode of Goosebumps called "Don't Go to Sleep!" where he plays a hockey coach. His voice was also used in Disney's animated feature The Wild, as a penguin curling broadcaster. He also appeared alongside the Trailer Park Boys in The Tragically Hip's video "The Darkest One".

In 2008, he also appeared on an episode of Holmes on Homes, the widely-popular home improvement show. While not appearing scripted, Cherry apparently lived in the neighbourhood and he is shown speaking with Mike Holmes about the construction business and the ongoing project at his brother-in-law's house.^{[citation needed]}

Business and charitable work[link]

In 1985, the first of a chain of franchised sports bars/restaurants bearing Cherry's name was opened in Hamilton. Cherry started as a partner in the operation and has more recently licensed his name to the chain without holding a significant ownership stake in the company. "Don Cherry's Sports Grill" has locations in Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta.^[42]

Cherry, who is an advocate of options for pet owners to keep their pets healthy, has also partnered with companion animal organisation Pethealth Inc. to offer Canadians the hockey-inspired CherryBlue Pet Insurance program. Cherry is pictured on cherryblue.ca with his popular bull terrier Blue, for whom the program is named.

Cherry has lent his considerable persona to selected charitable causes, most significantly, organ donation awareness.

Cherry is good friends with long-serving Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion. During her 87th birthday, he joked that while 98% of the city voted for her, he was looking for the remaining 2% that didn't.

Cherry in recent years has become one of the biggest public personalities to endorse Cold FX cold medication. In the first year Cherry worked for the company, $1 from every bottle sold of Cold-FX was donated to Rose Cherry's Home for Kids.

He has also done television and radio advertisements for the sandwich store chain Quizno's, in which he appeared with sportscaster Jody Vance, where he frequently utters the slogans "You get more meat", "Toasted tastes better" and "You're gonna love it". In 2007 Cherry lent his image on Rayovac brand batteries intended for sale in Canada.

On October 21, 2009, the Kingston Frontenacs celebrated "Military Night" by paying tribute to Cherry. Jerseys were made that resembled one of Cherry's famous suits, and afterward the jerseys were auctioned off for charity.

In September 2010, Cherry signed a multi-year deal to act as the corporate spokesman for Dominion Lending Centres, a nationally-franchised mortgage brokerage headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Other accolades[link]

In 1993, Cherry lent his voice to the charity song "Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Techno" for Canadian Techno group BKS. On November 14, 2005, Cherry was granted honorary membership of the Police Association of Ontario. Once an aspiring police officer, Cherry has been a longtime supporter of the police services. In his own words, "This is the best thing I've ever had." In June 2007, Cherry was made a Dominion Command Honorary Life Member of the Royal Canadian Legion in recognition of "his longstanding and unswerving support of ... Canadians in uniform". In February 2008, Cherry was awarded the Canadian Forces Medallion for Distinguished Service for 'unwavering support to men and women of the Canadian Forces, honouring fallen soldiers on his CBC broadcast during 'Coach's Corner' a segment of Hockey Night in Canada'.^[43]

See also[link]

Ice hockey portal

• List of NHL head coaches
• List of players who played only one game in the NHL

References[link]

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

• Don Cherry's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Don Cherry's biography at Legends of Hockey
• CBC Sports - In Depth: Don Cherry
• ESPN E-Ticket - The Biggest Mouth in Sports
• Don Cherry: A Coach, A Commentator, A Controversy - CBC Digital Archives
• CBC Coach's Corner Archive page