Don Cherry on Jets' Evander Kane: 'Smarten up, don't be a jerk'
'Don't think you can fool me with the operation; the operation is they didn't want you around'
Don Cherry had a few words for the Winnipeg Jets' Evander Kane during Hockey Night in Canada's Coach's Corner segment Saturday.
Cherry, who has supported Kane in the past, told the 23-year-old to "smarten up and don't be a jerk," after reports he showed up to a team meeting in a track suit earlier this week.
"What you did, come into a team meeting, everybody's got shirts and ties on and you come in in a track suit, you should be ashamed of yourself. You're at a fork (in the) road right now, you are a jerk right now and don't think you can fool me with the operation, the operation is they didn't want you around," said Cherry.
CBC News and other media organizations reported Thursday that Kane violated the team's dress code by failing to wear a suit to a meeting. The report also said that teammate Dustin Byfuglien threw Kane's clothes in a shower after the incident.
Kane was benched by head coach Paul Maurice, and missed the Jet's game against the Canucks Tuesday following the altercation. It was reported he couldn't be reached until an hour before the puck-drop, when he answered his cellphone and confirmed he wouldn't be playing.
After reports surfaced, Winnipeg placed Kane on the injured-reserve list. Kane will be out of the lineup for four to six months because he needs shoulder surgery to fix a nagging injury.
During his one minute 15-second rant on Kane, Cherry played a clip of his teammate Blake Wheeler commenting to reporters that professional hockey players must meet a certain standard.
"There's a standard that everyone needs to live up to, we're professionals, we make a lot of money and we're expected to uphold a certain standard...if you don't like it, then there's other places to go," said Wheeler.
Cherry was critical of Kane for behaving like he has while the Jets are in the midst of a stretch of poor-play.
"They're hanging by a thread, and you disrupt the team right now? You're at a fork in the road like I said, you can either be a jerk, you're gonna get four months to listen and think about it, either be a jerk or be a good hockey player, if not it's like Wheeler says, get out of the game. Smarten up, don't be a jerk."