Pavel Thanks Don Cherry

[DYags 0]

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/04/pa...k_daddy_do.html

Pavel's response to Don Cherry's criticisms:

"Puck Daddy: Tell us, what is so special about Detroit that a lot of stars want to play there? Marian Hossa is even considering playing there for less money.

Pavel Datsyuk: I think that everyone is attracted by the team style of play. The great Scotty Bowman brought this style. A lot of people like "puck moving" hockey. And the Detroit Red Wings as the organization is so great. Your heart is happy every morning when you come to work.

It is difficult for me to compare with other teams. I have never played for another team. And I don't even want to try. I am extremely happy that I am in Detroit.

PD: Not long ago Don Cherry mentioned you as a player who hits people from behind, and that the Red Wings are a boring team. Can you comment on that?

Datsyuk: He said what he said. It is his job to light the fire of passion in fans. And actually you have to look at it all differently. I was shown on TV once again! That's cool! Whether they talk good or bad about me, it is still exposure. Thank you, Don Cherry, for promoting me."

[DatsMyWings13 4]

someone beat you to the punch:

http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=56782

There is some comic gold in that interview though.

[esteef 2,679]

Butt kisser!

[DatsMyWings13 4]

Butt kisser!

?

[Kira 451]

Pasha has a way of finding the silver lining in any cloud. I still hate Cherry, though. How dare he call Pasha a "dirty" player and our team "Boring". If anyone was as boring as whale s***, it's Don Cherry. And he dresses like he stole the cover off someone's 1960's vintage furniture.

[beepbeep 3]

Cherry dresses like a clown and obviously thinks like a clown..........Hits from behind, right that's why he wins the Lady Byng....... Eat s*** Cherry.....

Edited April 11, 2009 by beepbeep

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Haha, what? I never heard about Cherry's comment, but talk about left field.

But of course, now that Datsyuk hits, Cherry has to find another way to discredit him.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

I'd need to see the exact quote, because that sounds like something dumb even for Don.

[stactum 4]

cherry marry tootoo...

[heed316 7]

Skip to about the 4 minute mark to see the Don Cherry comments on Datsyuk if you missed it when it first came out...

[DanZ 0]

Skip to about the 4 minute mark to see the Don Cherry comments on Datsyuk if you missed it when it first came out...

What a ****** bag. How can you not respect Lidstrom?

[TheOwl 77]

Man, Detroit is one of the few teams who are even watchable. I live 30 minutes outside Vancouver and can't stand the way they play hockey, it's so one sided, Luongo lets in 3 goals, the Nucks will lose 80% of the time, and blame it on bad goaltending. Detroit is one of few teams who can win in so many different ways, and don't rely on one area of the game to succeed. Detroit may be "boring" for the opposition fans because they have the puck so much, but how is that boring at all? Constant chances, constant skill from Dats, Hossa, Zetterberg and Franzen, not to mention Detroits 3rd and 4th liners could be 2nd or 1st liners on any other team.

[SaCkaveli20 275]

How is the team with the most goals this season "boring" ????

Why doesn't he just go away already?

[Vincanni 1]

Cherry is dead on concerning most obvious points that any casual fan can point out and he's good for the sport in the same way Maggie the monkey is. Sans his obvious ethnocentric xenophobia he's a real analyst, but unfortunately he's mostly just an opinionated blowhard. I don't mind him too much considering he speaks his mind at least, granted he is a bit of an idiot.

[Nev 1,085]

"Nick Lidstrom went 18 straight playoff games without a hit"

And? So? Relevance?

He shut down every team he played against, and Detroit won the cup, and that Mr Cherry, is what its all about.

Difference between Don Cherry and Nick Lidstrom?

:champs: :champs:

[Guest Shoreline]

LOL. You gotta love Grapes. I mean his argument is as dumb as a door knob but he sticks up for his beliefs, and watch as Ron, who is usually passive and lets Grapes run the show the way he likes, comes down on him for his refusal to admit that Lids is a bona-fide winner, when Grapes puts words in his mouth. Grapes is pure awesome, but like anyone he isn't devoid of saying controversial and stupid things. Canadians tend to love old time hockey, Grapes is a bit over the top on old time hockey, but the funniest thing is the people ragging on Grapes.. the reason he's on Coach's Corner, more than anything else, is because he's entertaining and has a unique personality. He's twice more interesting than Hrudey, Oake, Davidson, MacLean, Friedman, and so on, even if you don't like what he says or how dumb he looks saying certain things.

Oh, and before I go too far off track, Dats was absolutely right that this is exposure for him. Since exposure is one of the key elements to some of the semi-ambiguously judged trophies like the Hart or Norris, any exposure he gets should be considered good news for him. If anything, Grapes also just helped Lids in that interview as well.

Edited April 11, 2009 by Shoreline

[Broken 16 381]

LOL. You gotta love Grapes.

No you don't. He's nothing but a two bit sensationalist trying to remain popular by any means necessary. The dude is a toad. He's backward and useless in terms of promoting the NHL. I wish someone would pay him to retire. It's long overdue.

Seriously, implying that Datsyuk is a dirty player? He doesn't even have the balls to come out and accuse him. He implies it. Nothing more than a washed up, has been, dinosaur trying to capitalize on a great players name. I wish someone would put that f***in moron out of his misery.

Edited April 11, 2009 by Broken 16

[Reds4Life 51]

He's still alive? Damn.

[jvxp 0]

Pasha has a way of finding the silver lining in any cloud. I still hate Cherry, though. How dare he call Pasha a "dirty" player and our team "Boring". If anyone was as boring as whale s***, it's Don Cherry. And he dresses like he stole the cover off someone's 1960's vintage furniture.

Yes he does and love the comment about Cherry's cloths!! :lol:

[esteef 2,679]

No you don't. He's nothing but a two bit sensationalist trying to remain popular by any means necessary. The dude is a toad. He's backward and useless in terms of promoting the NHL. I wish someone would pay him to retire. It's long overdue.

Seriously, implying that Datsyuk is a dirty player? He doesn't even have the balls to come out and accuse him. He implies it. Nothing more than a washed up, has been, dinosaur trying to capitalize on a great players name. I wish someone would put that f***in moron out of his misery.

esteef

[awingsincebirth 0]

Four things:

One, did anyone else think that none of the hits they showed (which they stated we "all on the numbers") were actually on the numbers. They weren't even significant hits, just Dats trying to throw his wait around a little bit and make his presence felt. That entire argument was just ridiculous.

Two, Ron MacLean has one of the toughest jobs in hockey. Have you ever tried to have a cogent argument with someone drunk and stubborn. I have. It looked a lot like that. The part where MacLean was trying to talk about the Fab 5 and Cherry was just yelling bulls*** at him was physically painful and embarassing to watch.

Three, I'll say this. I do buy into one of his arguments. No Detroit sports team has seen such attendance drops in recent years as the Wings. Thus, the economy argument only can go so far. There is something else there.

Four, BUT (and this is my big one) Cherry seems to fail to realize something. There is no doubt that one of the main goals of the league is to entertain the fans. Clearly that is what Cherry is saying, that the Wings have failed because they aren't doing that as well as other teams in this aspect. However, in my opinion, that goal is the responsibility of those with roles working for the league or for specific teams that have nothing to do with hockey in itself (PR, marketing, and a whole other host of people that I'm sure Cherry could care less about). The NHL is about HOCKEY. There is no right or wrong way to play HOCKEY. HOCKEY is a game fueled by competitive spirit and a desire to win above all else. Frankly, the entertainment factor is an unfortunate byproduct of being part of a commercial entity. Kenny, Babs, Dats, Z, and Lids (as well as the GMs, coaches, and players of every other team) have been entrusted with one duty and one duty only. TO WIN. No one in recent history has done that nearly as well as the Wings have. To me, that's what it should all come down to. That's it. Considering Cherry as something of a hockey purist because he has a public stage on which to whine every weekend about teams that aren't entertaining because they don't fight enough is entirely misguided. A real hockey purist would look at this argument and cringe at the way that ENTERTAINMENT has supplanted WINNING as the main goal of a game that should all boil down to pure competitive spirit.

Cherry is just scared s***less of the likelihood of other teams adapting the Wings' system because of how successful it will be. I'm Done.

[evilmrt 636]

Considering Cherry as something of a hockey purist because he has a public stage on which to whine every weekend about teams that aren't entertaining because they don't fight enough is entirely misguided. A real hockey purist would look at this argument and cringe at the way that ENTERTAINMENT has supplanted WINNING as the main goal of a game that should all boil down to pure competitive spirit.

I agree, however I think Cherry's mistake is that he doesn't realize there is room in the league for different "schools" of play, and the Wings subscribe to something quite different from many of the other teams that just go around beating the crap out of each other. Both styles are hockey, and shouldn't be discounted. Was I entertained at the antics during the Bruins/Habs game the other day? Hell yes, it was old-school rough-and-tumble hockey, but I was equally entertained by the "pure hockey" shown during the Wings/Preds game (even if the Wings didn't bring their A-game...again).

[Guest Shoreline]

No you don't. He's nothing but a two bit sensationalist trying to remain popular by any means necessary. The dude is a toad. He's backward and useless in terms of promoting the NHL. I wish someone would pay him to retire. It's long overdue.

Seriously, implying that Datsyuk is a dirty player? He doesn't even have the balls to come out and accuse him. He implies it. Nothing more than a washed up, has been, dinosaur trying to capitalize on a great players name. I wish someone would put that f***in moron out of his misery.

Actually, like most of us, Grapes is not immune from going on silly tirades, which is highly prevalent from those who seek the glory of old school NHL hockey, and also happen to be old. But he's an original act, and most of what he says is not, in fact, sensationalist. What's sensationalist to me is focusing entirely on these silly things he says which are only a small portion of his show. If he's really that bad maybe we can go over the last few Coach's Corners here topic by topic and discuss which parts are sensationalist, just to see how much credibility your claim has.

Edited April 11, 2009 by Shoreline

[StevieY'sguy 1]

Here's the deal, Don Cherry loves hockey and is in my opinion the most passionate analyst on TV. Anyone who has seen more than 30 seconds of Coaches Corner knows that Cherry has a temper and who hasn't said some dumb things when they get fired up? Do i agree with what he said? Absolutely not, but he is very relevant and good for the game....on almost every Coaches Corner segment he points out some clips of various NHLers playing fundamental hockey and tells any kids watching that doing the little things are important to becoming a good hockey player.

He is very biased against Europeans and towards Canada, but it must be realized that while his generation was growing up there was a very anti-Euro sentiment in hockey. It is no different from old-timers who lived through the Pearl Harbor attacks being anti-Japanese or people from the old South being racist.....it is absolutely wrong but the fact of the matter is that MOST people display traits that were around them when they were growing up and by the time people age they are usually very set in their ways of thinking. I find it hilarious that people are trying to downplay Cherry's significane in the hockey world in a year that his criticism of Ovechkin, Pav and Lidstrom has made headlines all across the hockey world and has elicited responses from those players, do u think there would have been anything in print if Harry Neale or Kelly Hrudey said something like this??? Not a chance

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Controversy. Debate. Raising the ire of fans or viewers/listeners. That's what pretty much any/all analysts eventually have to do, even if they are pretty much dead-on incorrect. Nothing different here in terms of what Cherry said. That being said, while it humors me every time to see Cherry's fashion apparel, I'm getting tired of hearing or reading about him being over-opinionated for whatever reason.