OT: Why was Don Cherry Fired?

[Hockeyholic]

For old timers, can anyone pinpoint the exact reason? There's been speculation that it had to do with Cherry calling out Sinden as cheap ( Red Fisher was involved). Near the end, they didn't get along. Was the too many men incident the straw that broke the camel's back?

To be fair, the 77 & 78 Bruins were a great team. Unfortunately, they went up against a machine. But 79 should've been the year.

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[ballofhate13]

Just a theory okay? He was super popular with the players and fan base. He played the game and was as he is now very out spoken. truly believe Sinden felt he was a threat to him.

 

[Fenway]

Don's version is that he quit because Sinden told him to stop yapping to the press. Sinden was livid when Cherry complained to Fisher about flying back from Atlanta commercial the day of a home game.

Grapes at his finest after 'Too Many Men'

 

[ODAAT]

2 egomaniacs, one running the bench, the other running the team, the one running the bench, from what I`ve read/heard over the years thought he should have run it all, ya knew it wasn`t going to last. I was far too young to appreciate that era and Cup wins and I`m jealous of those here who are/were old enough to see that era. Would have been a blast.

 

[Ned Bouhalassa]

I will never forget, nor forgive this clownish man.

 

[GarbageGoal]

Clashing massive egos and the handy excuse “he couldn’t get us over the hump and made a major mistake in a big game”.

Why Fred Creighton was fired is probably more of a head scratcher.

 

[BruinsBtn]

He couldn't win with a sick team and the greatest player of all-time

 

[jgatie]

He couldn't win with a sick team and the greatest player of all-time

He had Orr exactly one season, plus 10 games the next. He coached for 3 more seasons after that. Had nothing to do with Orr.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

He couldn't win with a sick team and the greatest player of all-time

Montreal's team was sicker.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I will never forget, nor forgive this clownish man.

Not forgive him for what?

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

2 egomaniacs, one running the bench, the other running the team, the one running the bench, from what I`ve read/heard over the years thought he should have run it all, ya knew it wasn`t going to last. I was far too young to appreciate that era and Cup wins and I`m jealous of those here who are/were old enough to see that era. Would have been a blast.

Indeed it was.

Bobby and the Brawlers.

 

[Bruinfanatic]

Montreal's team was sicker.

Exactly right ,Montreal was just to good.

 

[Number8]

Indeed it was.

Bobby and the Brawlers.

It was extraordinary......

I will say that I appreciate it even more now after 2011. We had so many brutal and strange let downs in those years.

God I miss Thursday nights. It seems we always had games against Habs on Thursday’s. The build up was intense.

Inevitable bs calls against Boston (particularly in Forum)and then Miller, O’Reilly, Wensink, Neely, Byers, Jonathan (spanning a few years, I know) and Kordic, Nilan, etc, etc.

Intense.

 

[Fenway]

Some fans were outraged - if HF had existed back then it would have melted down. Since sports talk radio was limited back then, many called the newspaper to vent. Some of you will laugh at this article. especially @BMC

 

[GordonHowe]

Exactly right ,Montreal was just to good.

No. Sorry. MTL was unreal. As good as Boston was through the mid to late seventies, Canadiens were on another planet. They would toy with the (Dead) Wings, for example. (Used to have season's tickets.)

As for Cherry, he was the right coach for those teams.

Sinden? I will always hate Sinden. Cheap b*st*rd. It wouldn't surprise at all if Cherry popping off about flying commercial was the final straw. Fans (myself included) blamed JJ for a kind of mean spirited stinginess, and rightfully so. But much of that was Sinden's doing. I'm so glad he is no longer actively involved, even if, reportedly, DS#32 & CN#8 seek occasional advice.

 

[Bruinfanatic]

No. Sorry. MTL was unreal. As good as Boston was through the mid to late seventies, Canadiens were on another planet. They would toy with the (Dead) Wings, for example. (Used to have season's tickets.)

As for Cherry, he was the right coach for those teams.

Sinden? I will always hate Sinden. Cheap b*st*rd. It wouldn't surprise at all if Cherry popping off about flying commercial was the final straw. Fans (myself included) blamed JJ for a kind of mean spirited stinginess, and rightfully so. But much of that was Sinden's doing. I'm so glad he is no longer actively involved, even if, reportedly, DS#32 & CN#8 seek occasional advice.

Yeah they were think they only lost 8 games that one season,they were so cheap they dint put the Bruins emblem on the pucks ,I seem to recall Cherry saying.

 

[GordonHowe]

Yeah they were think they only lost 8 games that one season,they were so cheap they dint put the Bruins emblem on the pucks ,I seem to recall Cherry saying.

Unsurprising. Near the end of Sinden/OC, if a player wanted to frame his jersey, he had to buy the jersey. And the frame.

 

[Fenway]

Unsurprising. Near the end of Sinden/OC, if a player wanted to frame his jersey, he had to buy the jersey. And the frame.

Milbury told me years ago that Harry ran the show and Jacobs stayed out of it.

 

[McGarnagle]

Some fans were outraged - if HF had existed back then it would have melted down. Since sports talk radio was limited back then, many called the newspaper to vent. Some of you will laugh at this article. especially @BMC

View attachment 103937

Those bums are idiots.

 

[Fenway]

Those bums are idiots.

 

[GordonHowe]

Milbury told me years ago that Harry ran the show and Jacobs stayed out of it.

I was thinking of this, Fens. You were at a bar in Buff, and made some remark per JJ, and Microphone Mike said something like, "Everything goes through Harry." This was you, yes?

 

[Fenway]

I was thinking of this, Fens. You were at a bar in Buff, and made some remark per JJ, and Microphone Mike said something like, "Everything goes through Harry." This was you, yes?

Bar was in Harvard Sq - He was no the GM with the Islanders and he wanted to see his team play the Kings in LA. He was emphatic that Harry ran everything.

 

[GordonHowe]

Bar was in Harvard Sq - He was no the GM with the Islanders and he wanted to see his team play the Kings in LA. He was emphatic that Harry ran everything.

Well, the memory on this end is a bit off, but the general sentiment stuck with me.

What bar? Grendel's?

 

[22Brad Park]

My opinion was the Too many men on ice was final straw and blowing 3-1 lead in game 7 to team they could never get past.Result Fired

 

[Barnum]

My opinion was the Too many men on ice was final straw and blowing 3-1 lead in game 7 to team they could never get past.Result Fired

There were way too many incidents before this to simply blame it on the too many men game 7. Apparently, if you listen to Cherry’s story, it goes back to the Atlanta to Boston commercial flight incident. Sinden was settled to fire him when he could.

Supposedly, this was the final encounter:

Of course, May 10, 1979 was the famous "too many men" Game 7 against Montreal. As Cherry tells one story, Harry Sinden summoned him for the postseason meeting, which went as follows:
Sinden: "If not for you, we'd have won the Cup. Instead, you're too dumb to be able to count to six! I oughta punch you in the nose."
Cherry: "Harry, if you want to punch me in the nose you need a stepladder."
Sinden: "Get the hell out of here."