Hockey legend Bobby Orr slams Ron MacLean for making massive claim about Don Cherry's health and controversial HNIC exit

Hockey legend Bobby Orr criticized Ron MacLean for comments made on Don Cherry in a recent interview with the Kingston Whig Standard.

MacLean suggested that Don Cherry used his 2019 "Poppygate" controversy as an "exit" strategy from Hockey Night in Canada due to health issues, specifically a pneumonia scare.

MacLean claimed Cherry was seriously ill, alleging that he needed assistance and was hospitalized in Boston, and that this health scare prompted him to orchestrate his departure from Coach's Corner.

“I think that pneumonia scare was it,” MacLean said via the Toronto Sun. “The pneumonia said to Don, ‘It’s time.’ He had to think, ‘Why is this grind suddenly so hard?’ He was ready to have an exit strategy. From that moment on, he was plotting a way out."

Bobby Orr called these claims shameful, stating:

"Suggesting Don Cherry used encouraging people to wear poppies on Remembrance Day as an exit strategy from Coach’s Corner, revealing he had pneumonia in 2019 and that he doesn’t have many friends, I have only one thing to say to you Ron MacLean: Shame on you.”

Notably, Cheery and his family, including his son Tim, denied MacLean's account, asserting there was no hospital visit in Boston and that Cherry had no intention of leaving the show.

Ron MacLean and Don Cherry were an iconic duo in Canadian broadcasting

Ron MacLean and Don Cherry worked together as co-hosts of Coach’s Corner on Hockey Night in Canada from 1986 to 2019, spanning over three decades.

They became an iconic duo in Canadian broadcasting, with MacLean playing the straight man to Cherry’s outspoken, colorful commentary on hockey and cultural topics.

However, their relationship faced public scrutiny after Cherry’s 2019 dismissal from Hockey Night in Canada following his controversial “Poppygate” comments, where he criticized immigrants for not wearing Remembrance Day poppies.

MacLean, who was on air during the segment, nodded along but later apologized, distancing himself from Cherry’s remarks. This led to perceptions that MacLean did not fully support Cherry, straining their relationship.

Cherry also expressed disappointment, feeling MacLean could have come to his defense.