I’ve been a fan of Donald S. Cherry for more than 35 years.
Watching Cherry on “Coach’s Corner” has been a weekly ritual for decades.
I don’t always agree with his hot takes but I support his right to vent his spleen over the public airwaves. When Cherry is right, he is bang on. When he’s wrong, he comes off as being the “get off my lawn guy” we all despised in the neighborhoods of our youths.
Cherry got on my nerves big time this past Saturday night when on “Coach’s Corner” he criticized San Jose Sharks winger Evander Kane. What did Kane do to for Cherry to take umbrage with him? Cherry alleged that Kane skated into the Calgary Flames half of the ice surface during pregame warmups.
Brutal “code”violation, eh, Grapes? Cherry clearly had a sharp stone in his shoe.
“What he did was, in the warmups, he went down in the other team’s end. Why he does goofy things like that. That’s why he ticks off his own team,” the voice that roared spewed. “There’s no reason to be down in the other team’s end. We’re not even going to show it.”
How dare Kane! Doesn’t he know that the ubiquitous Cherry is always watching NHL players to make sure they are compliant with NHL rules?
Cherry better get lasik surgery on his eyes or scream at the stagehand who gave him bad information about Evander Kane because the Sharks forward was minding his own business and was well within his team’s 100 feet of ice during pregame warmups.
On Monday, Kane’s new San Jose teammates came to his defense. To a man, the Sharks feel that Cherry is off base for wrongly accusing Kane of being a bad teammate.
On February 26, the Sharks traded forward prospect Danny O’Regan and two conditional draft choices to Buffalo in exchange for Kane. The trade compensation for the pending unrestricted free agent raised eyebrows around the NHL because a player of Kane’s pedigree suggested the Sabres should ask for and receive more. Kane’s off-ice reputation gave pause to several NHL GMs at the trade dead,ine. San Jose GM Doug Wilson and his scouts did their due diligence on Kane before the trade. After careful deliberation and months of scouting, the Sharks were 100% confident that Kane was the forwarad that would help inject needed 5v5 scoring, speed and physicality to their lineup. Wilson won the trade deadline by boldly going whetre no other NHL GM dared to go.
Kane is a high risk player. Kane is a high reward player.
Having covered Kane for the past three seasons in Buffalo, I can speak from experience about him as a hockey player. He's a great teammate and a leafder of men. Is he outspoken? Yes, he is. Is he honest and candid? Yes, he is. Is Kane bad teammate? No, he isn't.
Kaneisn't a shrinking violet. When he's wrong, he will own his behavior. When he's correct, he will remind you that he is in the right. and demand accountability.
On Monday, Kane told the Mercury News that he was not in the wrong the way that Don Cherry accused him of being. Kane said that the Sharks returned to the ice for the beginning of the second period of play. Don't let the facts get in the way of a great story, eh, Don Cherry, who said that Kane was twirling on Flames ice during pregame warmups.
Big difference, Grapes.
Watch an NHL game in person. You will see players crossing center ice and skating in their opponent’s zone prior to the second period. It's the long change period.
“It was not during pregame warmups as the video would suggest. It was coming out for the second period,” Kane said emphatically. “I was just doing some practice shots without a puck toward the net, like I actually do every single game coming out for the second.”
I've witnessed Kane practice in this manner many times when he played in Buffalo. Fact is, many NHL players follow a similar ritual. Why single out Kane?
Kane's teammate Brent Burns wasted little time coming to the defense of Kane.
“Every team does that,” Burns said. “I say "hi" to the other teams’ guys all the time. It’s not uncommon. Watch when guys come out for the second period, they’re always going into the other team’s zone.”
Logan Couture echoed Burns.
“Every single team does that. That’s crazy. It isn’t a problem for us,” Couture said. “If he (Kane) shows up and plays the way he does, we don’t care. It’s nothing. It’s really not a story.”
Don Cherry owes Kane an apology. There was no story so Cherry made up a narrative to besmirch Kane. Throw some spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks. It's bad form.
Cherry picked the wrong team to piss off. The Sharks want Cherry and the rest of the NHL community to know that Evander Kane is liked and respected by the boys in the room.
If Kane were such a "bad teammate", why would Joe Thornton have driven to the San Jose airport at midnight Pacific time on trade deadline day to pick up Kane?
Why would Thornton open his home to Kane and allow him to live with him and his family until he found a new place of his own in San Jose?
If Kane were such a bad guy, why would the Sharks' leadership group emphatically tell Doug Wilson to acquire Kane at the NHL trade deadline?
Why would captain Joe Pavelski speak glowingly to Pete DeBoer and Doug Wilson about the experiences that he and Kane shared while they were teammates in the KHL duing the 2013 NHL lockout?
In nine games in a Sharks sweater, Kane has scored 5 goals and 5 assists.
Did you know that all ten of Kane's points scored in a San Jose sweater have come at even strength? The Sharks were the 27th rated 5v5 offense in the NHL before the Kane trade. Today, the Sharks rank 17th in the NHL in even strength goal scoring.
Evander Kane has been a godsend for the Sharks. He is exceeding all expectations in every area of his game and he has injected a ton of confidence and swagger into his team's offense.
Kane scored 4 goals on Friday night in Calgary. After each of his four goals scored against Mike Smith, he was mobbed by his forwards and D-men. Smith is good Kingston boy.
Cherry is a good Kingston boy. Cherry obviously is trying to do damage control for a guy he likes in Smith. Mix in a save or four, Smitty.
Is this the behavior exhibited by a team that is cheesed off at their "demonstrative" teammate?
Oh, by the way.
Since the trade with Buffalo, the Sharks are 7-2 and surgung to the top of the Pacific Division standings. Evander Kane has been a catalyst for positive change in San Jose. He's an offensive engine that is pulling the Sharks right now. Adding Kane to the Sharks lineup kick started the offensive production of his line mates Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi.
The Sharks went 3-0 on the road last week. Kane has been a differemce maker in each of teh nine games he has played in the teal sweater.
Don Cherry should stay up until 1am EDT to watch Evander Kane play in San Jose.
The below picture should tell Cherry there is nothing to see here. Kane's teammates genuinely appreciate the talents and leadership that the power forward brings to their locker room.
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