Even Grapes is sour about Wilson bashing: Don Cherry weighs in on NHL poll

Don Cherry has never been shy about taking pot shots at Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson. In recent years on Coach’s Corner, he’s called him everything from “Napoleon” to “pompous and arrogant” to “bully.” But Grapes drew a line in the sand when a recent poll by the NHL Players’ Association and Hockey Night in Canada named Wilson the coach players would least like to play for. Cherry joins the Maple Leafs players and general manager Brian Burke, who’s been downright adamant in defending Wilson, in criticizing the poll and supporting Toronto’s bench boss.

In a conference call yesterday, Cherry told the assembled media: “I was very disappointed with the thing. Coaching is hard enough without getting polls like that, that’s the way I (think).” The outspoken commentator also took issue with the fact that Toronto was named the fifth-least desirable place to play in the NHL in the same poll. If the Leafs were winning, he said, Toronto would be one of the first places players would want to play.

• Cherry defends Wilson, almost [Toronto Star]