TORONTO (Jan. 18) – The budding disenchantment between Maple Leafs’ coach Ron Wilson and Hockey Night in Canada icon Don Cherry was unforeseen coming into the 2008-09 NHL season. After all, Cherry has been constant in his support of the Leafs over the years, and neither he nor Wilson had any history to speak of. Their paths crossed, professionally, only between 1978 and 1980, when Wilson played defense for the Leafs, and Cherry coached the Boston Bruins and the Colorado Rockies. They may have also communicated several times during the 1998 Stanley Cup final, when Wilson coached the Eastern Conference-champion Washington Capitals and Cherry attended the Washington-Detroit series for Hockey Night.
Otherwise, Wilson and Cherry have been separated by two conferences and three time zones. Wilson was the original coach of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks [from 1993-96], and he later stood behind the San Jose Sharks’ bench for five seasons. Cherry, of course, has been almost solely connected to Maple Leaf games; his Coach’s Corner segment appears in the first intermission of the 7 p.m. Hockey Night telecast each Saturday and the Leafs have played in that slot on all but three occasions since March 1996 – all of them, in fact, this season.
So, it’s not as if these two have a score to settle, though you’d never know it by listening to Cherry, who’s been relentless in criticizing Wilson on TV and radio. He has mockingly referred to the Leafs’ coach as “Napoleon” – after the strong-willed military leader of France in the 1790s; or as “Einstein” – the German-American physicist who developed the theory of relativity. For whatever reason, Cherry is opposed to Wilson’s style of coaching, and has taken every opportunity to say so. This, of course, is his prerogative; Cherry has become the most recognizable person in Canada for his willingness to state an opinion, and for his unremitting support our country’s military personnel, and their families.
Last Tuesday, Cherry appeared on “The Gameplan” – a mid-day radio show on THE FAN-590, hosted by former Niagara University basketball coach Jack Armstrong, and ex-Columbus Blue Jackets’ general manager Doug MacLean. Towards the end of the 16-minute segment, Armstrong – knowing Cherry’s aversion to Wilson – quoted the Leafs’ coach from a media scrum the previous day. The conversation went like this:
ARMSTRONG: “Hey, Grapes, before we let you go, [let’s talk about] the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ron Wilson [is] quoted today saying, ‘I know where our talent level is, and when you’re not blessed with a lot of talent, there will be inconsistencies.’ Doug and I were chatting about this before we came on the air as former coaches; I don’t think you ever come out and…
CHERRY: “Never!”
ARMSTRONG: “…Well, what is up with this? Is he just taking himself off the hook here?”
CHERRY [in a mocking voice]: “Well, what he’s doing is saying, ‘Hey, look at me. I’m doing such a great job here with this garbage that I have, and no talent at all. But, look at us, almost .500, I’m a wonderful coach.’ I mean, Doug, have you ever heard of a guy saying [things] about his players the way this guy is? I mean, am I off base saying things about him? Have you ever heard of anybody?”
MACLEAN: “I’ve been surprised; I mean we’ve looked at it…”
ARMSTRONG [interrupting]: “If I’m a player, I’m ticked!”
MACLEAN: “We’ve talked about it often; you know it’s really interesting, I listened to Derek Roy [of the Buffalo Sabres] today talking about [coach] Lindy [Ruff] going after him and it was, ‘Lindy calls me aside on the ice; calls me into his office and he goes after me.’ Obviously, anytime you go after a guy… yeah, in the dressing room, sometimes you lose it on a guy in front of [the other players], but not in the media.”
CHERRY: “Not in the media. I mean, I’ve been in the game 50 years; [back to] Junior, and I can’t remember going in the media and saying, ‘Look, we’ve got no talent, we have to work harder.’ I mean, it’s unbelievable to me. I’m a player’s coach and I got fired three times for being a player’s coach. If somebody asks me about [Wilson], I have no use for a guy that runs his players down to show how talented he is. It’s garbage as far as I’m concerned; I say it, and I don’t care whether you like it or not.”
For his part, Wilson hasn’t responded to Cherry’s criticism in a direct way. After the Leafs skated for 75 minutes at Lakeshore Arena on Sunday, I wondered if constant badgering from the most recognizable face on Canadian television was affecting him.
“No, not at all, I don’t even listen [to it],” said Wilson. “It has no effect on what I do as a coach. I’m sorry to tell you, Howard, but I don’t listen to you either. I’m here having a conversation with you… you say things and do your job as you see fit. Don Cherry has this thing; he does it, but it doesn’t really effect what I do. Honest to God. It's not that I don't listen to you because I don’t like you, or anything like that. I’ve got a job to do, and what other people think of the job I’m doing has no impact.
“I keep counsel with my bosses and they’re pleased with what we’re doing. I don’t have to worry about what anyone else [thinks] who’s not in the actual cauldron and doesn’t know what’s going on.”
I wondered if he felt it was somehow a personal issue with Cherry.
“Well, even if it was, what does it have to do… I mean, it’s irrelevant. That’s the truth.”
When informed that Cherry has referred to him as “Napoleon”, Wilson said, “Well, whatever Don Cherry wants to say… y’know, I’ll compare [coaching] records with Don Cherry. Napoleon? He can call me whatever he wants. You know what [Cherry’s] nickname is, don’t you?”
Yes, “Grapes”.
“And, where do you think that comes from?” Wilson asked, walking back to his office – the inference being that Cherry’s moniker, short for “Sour Grapes”, indicates the TV icon has routinely complained about and criticized others through the years [most NHL referees from the late-’70s would heartily agree].
This little feud appears to have no immediate ending. Many theories abound, including one suggesting that Cherry will never accept an American citizen coaching his beloved Leafs, or merely that people with similar personalities will always clash. Cherry and Wilson have enormous self-confidence and are not hesitant to speak their minds in any situation. It’s the old magnet comparison – neither two positives nor two negatives attract.
It’s difficult to believe that Wilson is oblivious to Cherry’s remarks, or that they do not grate on his nerves. But, he’s handling the one-sided disparagement the only way he can – by professing ignorance and indifference. For his part, Cherry may be proven accurate in his assessment of Wilson. With the Leafs floundering at 3-8-1 since Dec. 22, and failing to generate the volume of shots on goal that were common in the first 30 games, perhaps Wilson has driven his players into the ground with still almost half the season to be played.
It’s also possible that the Leafs are simply finding their level much later than most of us expected. If so, it’s a credit to Wilson for drawing maximum performance from his players in the early going.
In the end, this could be nothing more than a clash of egos among men that are very competent in their chosen fields. If so, it won’t be the last such quarrel.
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