Around Hockey and the NHL

[Felonious Python]

ESPN covers TBL's dentist.

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/27851359/the-ugly-gory-bloody-secret-life-nhl-dentists

 

[Coopers Gum]

ESPN covers TBL's dentist.

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/27851359/the-ugly-gory-bloody-secret-life-nhl-dentists

That was actually a great read.

 

[LightningStrikes]

That was actually a great read.

User name checks out.

 

[Felonious Python]

Why do Canadians say 'Eh'?

 

[Felonious Python]

Bye, bye Honky.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[Felonious Python]

Some type of big announcement is coming tomorrow from the PWHPA. While a league could be a possibility, it seems more likely it'll be more dream tour stops since, as the article says, there's been some promotion in Philadelphia.

TB/Wesley Chapel would maybe be in the mix since the US Olympic team trained there.


edit: turned out to just be a Budweiser partnership.

 

[Sky04]

Brett Connolly scored from Stralman and Boyle. Reminds me of when Howden scored from Namestnikov and Hajek.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[These Are The Days]

USA gets possibly enough talent to win gold.... No Olympics. Gotta love it bruh

 

[Felonious Python]

Wow. I can't believe that was the straw that broke the camel's back. He seemed uncancelable.

 

[Boltswin]

Wow. I can't believe that was the straw that broke the camel's back. He seemed uncancelable.

This is going to make me sound bad (probably) but I don’t get what the big deal is (had to look up what you were referencing). He used “problematic” language. Maybe it’s cause I’m not Canadian? If people are offended I guess it’s a problem, but, some people (is that problematic too? Not referring to any specific ethnic or cultural group of people) are offended by everything. Don’t know much about Don (except that he was a coach) but it seems like him saying something “offensive” was a regular occurrence.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

It is a shame in the sense that he can and has done a lot of good with the power and platform he has held for years and years. I'm not Canadian and I don't regularly tune into Coaches Corner. Normally I tend to roll my eyes at a lot of what comes out of Cherry's mouth, but from what I understand, when he speaks, a lot of people listen. Very unfortunate, because at the heart of what he probably wanted to say was something positive message, but that's not at all how it came out. Like FP said, I also can't believe this is what did him in considering his long history of this kinda stuff. From what I can piece together, Sportsnet apologized, Ron MacClean apologized, but even after multiple talks with the network this weekend over the incident, Cherry still hasn't and doesn't seem to even understand what he did wrong. From the Toronto Sun, Cherry even doubled down today saying, "I know what I said and I meant it." That was obviously problematic for Sportsnet and HNIC, and kinda gave them no choice I guess from things possibly spiraling from here.

There's probably a lot of Canadian Bolt fans who can better speak to his importance to hockey in Canada, but hopefully this is a fresh start for a better on air product.

 

[DaBolts]

It is a shame in the sense that he can and has done a lot of good with the power and platform he has held for years and years. I'm not Canadian and I don't regularly tune into Coaches Corner. Normally I tend to roll my eyes at a lot of what comes out of Cherry's mouth, but from what I understand, when he speaks, a lot of people listen. Very unfortunate, because at the heart of what he probably wanted to say was something positive message, but that's not at all how it came out. Like FP said, I also can't believe this is what did him in considering his long history of this kinda stuff. From what I can piece together, Sportsnet apologized, Ron MacClean apologized, but even after multiple talks with the network this weekend over the incident, Cherry still hasn't and doesn't seem to even understand what he did wrong. From the Toronto Sun, Cherry even doubled down today saying, "I know what I said and I meant it." That was obviously problematic for Sportsnet and HNIC, and kinda gave them no choice I guess from things possibly spiraling from here.

There's probably a lot of Canadian Bolt fans who can better speak to his importance to hockey in Canada, but hopefully this is a fresh start for a better on air product.

TDo4, remember something very important, especially if you travel to Canada:

There is no 1st Amendment there. You can be arrested for crossing "their" lines. It's a dicey prospect to speak one's mind publicly and Cherry went over that unwritten line.

 

[Felonious Python]

This is going to make me sound bad (probably) but I don’t get what the big deal is (had to look up what you were referencing). He used “problematic” language. Maybe it’s cause I’m not Canadian? If people are offended I guess it’s a problem, but, some people (is that problematic too? Not referring to any specific ethnic or cultural group of people) are offended by everything. Don’t know much about Don (except that he was a coach) but it seems like him saying something “offensive” was a regular occurrence.

Cherry was regularly outside the Overton window with his comments about French-Canadians and Europeans.

I did consider early on for a moment that white Europeans immigrate to Canada too, as he didn't mention anything about race, but I sort of doubt he was talking about the Dutch.

The leap people are making, which I think is entirely logical, but unfair without more context from Cherry, is that in a majority white society, people of color would be zeroed-in on as being immigrants. The other, the 'you people'.

I don't think Don Cherry is suitable for TV in 2019 (and should have been retired years ago), but cancel culture has also acted too quickly in the past before as well.

TDo4, remember something very important, especially if you travel to Canada:

There is no 1st Amendment there. You can be arrested for crossing "their" lines. It's a dicey prospect to speak one's mind publicly and Cherry went over that unwritten line.

I don't know Canada's laws, but I don't think it's a freedom of speech issue. The government isn't censoring him. It's his private-sector employer firing him.

 

[DaBolts]

Cherry was regularly outside the Overton window with his comments about French-Canadians and Europeans.

I did consider early on for a moment that white Europeans immigrate to Canada too, as he didn't mention anything about race, but I sort of doubt he was talking about the Dutch.

The leap people are making, which I think is entirely logical, but unfair without more context from Cherry, is that in a majority white society, people of color would be zeroed-in on as being immigrants. The other, the 'you people'.

I don't think Don Cherry is suitable for TV in 2019 (and should have been retired years ago), but cancel culture has also acted too quickly in the past before as well.



I don't know Canada's laws, but I don't think it's a freedom of speech issue. The government isn't censoring him. It's his private-sector employer firing him.

The government could have intervened had they not fired him. They have an actual Human Rights Commission which assigns fines to companies which fail to submit to this PC nonsense. Sad but true. Back to hockey.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

TDo4, remember something very important, especially if you travel to Canada:

There is no 1st Amendment there. You can be arrested for crossing "their" lines. It's a dicey prospect to speak one's mind publicly and Cherry went over that unwritten line.

I think this was something that all parties could have easily handled if Cherry would have come out and apologized and reworded some things. I'm sorry I said this. This is really what I was trying to say. Blah, blah, blah. And theses are other ways you can support our veterans and active service members by ___. Super easy and short p.r. thing, and then you can move on. But you can't be too proud to refuse to admit you made a mistake. In the end, whether or not Cherry knows it, his rant ended up completely taking the focus away from the message he thought he was giving.

I don't know Canada's laws, but I don't think it's a freedom of speech issue. The government isn't censoring him. It's his private-sector employer firing him.

Exactly. The only tricky thing here is they haven't always strictly enforced the rules with him that other employees have had to abide by. He's been allowed to pretty much do his own thing for so long. They've always given him a lot of rope.

 

[Felonious Python]

The government could have intervened had they not fired him. They have an actual Human Rights Commission which assigns fines to companies which fail to submit to this PC nonsense. Sad but true. Back to hockey.

That's fascinating. I hear more about what's going on in the UK with that sort of stuff, but I guess it's Canada too.

I think this was something that all parties could have easily handled if Cherry would have come out and apologized and reworded some things. I'm sorry I said this. This is really what I was trying to say. Blah, blah, blah. And theses are other ways you can support our veterans and active service members by ___. Super easy and short p.r. thing, and then you can move on. But you can't be too proud to refuse to admit you made a mistake. In the end, whether or not Cherry knows it, his rant ended up completely taking the focus away from the message he thought he was giving.



Exactly. The only tricky thing here is they haven't always enforced the rules with him that other employees have had to abide by. He's been allowed to pretty much do his own thing for so long. They've always given him a lot of rope.

I was expecting Sportsnet to wait for it to blow over. A privilege I thought they'd give to Don Cherry and no one else going forward.

Cherry has gotten a different set of rules partly because he's an 'institution' (which is often a sign to pack it up), and because he's a pure editorial/opinion guy. He's not a newsman. He has no journalistic standards to worry about.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Cherry was long overdue. His ramblings were entertaining for a while and he was most likely just playing a role in order to entertain and provoke but as an European I never liked his unreasonable favoritism for certain teams or players and even more so his open aversion for non-(English)-Canadian players verging on xenophobia or his hate for "modern hockey". Also, his constant urge to bring politics into hockey might have irked a few people. He was living in the past, had strong views on how the game should be played, how players should conduct themselves (i.e. interviews, goal celebrations, the "jerks" in Carolina etc.) or even how they should dress before and after games (which is the most ironic thing ever when you take a look at his wardrobe). He can barely pronounce player names and regularily gets simple facts wrong which further suggests that at age 84 he's probably not fit for the job anymore. His most recent comments were probably the last straw that broke the camel's back and the network took the chance while they could to finally get rid of him which should have arguably been done a few years ago.

He'll be missed, but mostly just because this means there won't be any "Coach's Corner Transcribed" videos anymore.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Here's a TSN article with videos incl. Bob McKenzie giving his view and the TSN Radio panel discussing it.

Some interesting quotes:

Cherry's remarks on Saturday prompted Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who is Sikh, and Toronto Mayor John Tory to say Cherry's remarks were wrong.

Tory said Cherry was "way off base to question the devotion of newer Canadians." Bonnie Crombie, the mayor of Mississauga, the Toronto suburb where Cherry lives, called Cherry's remarks despicable.

The Royal Canadian Legion, which raises money through the sale of poppies, said Cherry's "personal opinion was hurtful, divisive and in no way condoned by the Legion."

"We do remain appreciative of his passionate support for Veterans."

The National Hockey League said in a statement that Cherry's remarks were "offensive and contrary to the values we believe in."

Both the network and MacLean apologized. Cherry refused to apologize and said he doesn't regret what he said and that he stands by it.

They also list his questionable opinions of late like only European players wear visors (suggesting they are soft and lesser hockey players or 'men'), women reporters should not be allowed in locker rooms or denying rising global temperatures and calling his co-host MacLean and others who disagree with Cherry "left wing pinko friends". He has crossed the line countless times and from the looks of it they just had enough of it.

 

[Felonious Python]

He'll be missed, but mostly just because this means there won't be any "Coach's Corner Transcribed" videos anymore.

If only there was a huge backlog of content...(I would agree that new memes are probably over)


He actually says "you people" in this one too, but of course the context is completely different.

 

[Felonious Python]

Rather than fixating on Don Cherry's firing, what do we think the plan should be for HNIC?

The solution everyone seems to have is Brian Burke taking over the Coach's Corner segment (maybe renamed at some point). That does make a lot of sense, but there are a lot of challenges with it that people maybe haven't considered.

First is if HNIC wants to continue the segment. I think the urge to compare Cherry and Burke is too strong and the show would be better off recontextualizing Burkie's personality elsewhere. Burke will always be in Cherry's shadow if they set him up as the guy with the big, stubborn personality who plays off of Ron MacLean.

Maybe in a few years if/when Jeff Marek takes over MacLean's spot, they could build their own dynamic, but you can't just insert Brian Burke this Saturday and continue on flawlessly.

Does Brian Burke want this? He hasn't been blacklisted from an NHL management job.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Just let Coach's Corner die and create a new segment. CC will always be associated with Cherry - and rightfully so. Love or hate the guy, he also used his platform and did a lot of good for hockey in and outside of Canada. Like his suggestions for icing rule changes or the stop signs on the back of youth hockey players' helmets to prevent injuries from dangerous hits from behind. He was the (polarizing) voice of hockey for decades in Canada while also doing a lot of charity work and supporting firefighters, soldiers, police etc. If he had retired a few years ago or even last year, his popularity in Canada would not be questioned. He just got too senile and didn't care about the consequences of his actions. It's one thing to complain about "running out of time" due to decreased air times of his CC segment, but regularily blasting minorities, immigrants or women in today's age and time is a different thing.

As for Burke: He is yet another "old man yelling at cloud" type of guy, an old and bitter wise ass - but without Cherry's personality. HNIC might be better advised to retire the CC segment for good and do something new and fresh with those 7-8 minutes and distance themselves from the "old man yelling at cloud" persona altogether. MacLean does tons of other segments already. Have Burke be part in intermission and post-game shows like today but don't try to replace something the public doesn't necessarily want or need anymore anyway.

 

[These Are The Days]

Cherry has said and done A LOT worse in the past, so to be fired of those remarks was a little bit surprising. I can't say I don't understand why but not my thing. I think the network saw its open to let him go and took it. In any case it's the end of an era and we're all gonna be better for it soon.

 

[These Are The Days]

Just let Coach's Corner die and create a new segment. CC will always be associated with Cherry - and rightfully so. Love or hate the guy, he also used his platform and did a lot of good for hockey in and outside of Canada. Like his suggestions for icing rule changes or the stop signs on the back of youth hockey players' helmets to prevent injuries from dangerous hits from behind. He was the (polarizing) voice of hockey for decades in Canada while also doing a lot of charity work and supporting firefighters, soldiers, police etc. If he had retired a few years ago or even last year, his popularity in Canada would not be questioned. He just got too senile and didn't care about the consequences of his actions. It's one thing to complain about "running out of time" due to decreased air times of his CC segment, but regularily blasting minorities, immigrants or women in today's age and time is a different thing.

As for Burke: He is yet another "old man yelling at cloud" type of guy, an old and bitter wise ass - but without Cherry's personality. HNIC might be better advised to retire the CC segment for good and do something new and fresh with those 7-8 minutes and distance themselves from the "old man yelling at cloud" persona altogether. MacLean does tons of other segments already. Have Burke be part in intermission and post-game shows like today but don't try to replace something the public doesn't necessarily want or need anymore anyway.

Ask what Scotty Bowman is doing these days and see if he wants the gig to finish out the season... You can keep coach's corner alive, have the GOAT take over and you won't have "old man yelling at cloud" anymore