Don Cherry's Latest Comments on HNIC Partner Ron MacLean's Betrayal Have Gone Public

The legendary duo of Don Cherry and Ron MacLean graced our TVs every Saturday night during the former's popular 'Coach's Corner' segment on Hockey Night in Canada for over 30 years. It came to an abrupt end when Cherry made some off-the-cuff remarks about people not buying or wearing poppies ahead of Remembrance Day in 2019.

Their relationship became a contentious one after MacLean essentially threw his former running-mate under the bus when he issued an on-air apology and pushed all the blame for the segment onto Cherry. That spelled the end of their long-time partnership on-air and the start of Cherry's early retirement.

Since then, Cherry turned to podcasting on 'The Don Cherry's Grapevine Podcast', whereas MacLean kept his position as the host of Hockey Night in Canada, where he is joined by various pundits and analysts through the season and into playoffs.

Even though the initial event occurred in 2019, that hasn't stopped MacLean from talking about the situation openly, which is something that has recently been brought to Cherry's attention.

In an interview with Kingston Whig Standard, MacLean allegedly opened up about Cherry's health issues back in 2018 and how he essentially orchestrated his own exit-plan, that turned into 'Poppygate'.

MacLean mentioned how he had to help Cherry, who was having issues with his breathing in 2018, before he was later admitted to the hospital for a bout with pneumonia, which he later admitted was the reason Cherry wanted to retire.

Upon hearing about these comments, Cherry was shocked and quickly denied the allegations. He quipped that while he was tired, he did not visit the hospital, and instead returned to his hotel room. He later shared his disappointment with MacLean and that he should just let the situation go.

MacLean has yet to respond since Cherry's comments but it's safe to say that he is no longer welcome to the Cherry household after this story.