Don Cherry lays into Mitch Marner on his latest Grapevine Podcast
For NHL players, the offseason is a time for rest, relaxation, recuperation and downtime to spend their time the way they want to spend it when there's no hockey left to be played. It's when we tend to see the most activity from players on social media, as this is when they're sharing photos or videos of vacations and other fun activities.
Players, especially at this time of the year, when they'd much rather still be playing meaningful hockey games, are often traversing the globe trying to forget their shortcomings and postseason disappointments and mentally unpacking. There are some out there, however, who believe that posting photos and videos of those activities should not be done until after the playoffs are over.
Don Cherry is as opinionated as they come. Hell, there was a whole Hockey Night in Canada segment dedicated to the former coach sharing his opinions on national television from 1982 all the way through until 2019. He now hosts a podcast called "Don Cherry's Grapevine Podcast", where the gloves are off and no subject is off limits.
On Sunday, Cherry took aim at Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner for snapping photos of himself on vacation, sharing photos on Instagram. The message that Cherry wished to send to Marner was that, while he's off having the time of his life, Leafs fans are not enjoying the fact that the Buds were bounced in the first round for the sixth straight year and still have a sour taste left in their mouths.
"I'd just like Mitch Marner not to show [photos] in Paris, enjoying himself.. I mean the Leaf fans are dying a thousand deaths and here he is over in Paris [while the playoffs are going on]. I want to tell Mitch Marner, don't be having your picture taken in Paris enjoying yourself, because the Leaf fans aren't."
I'm very much a "live and let live" type of guy, so it doesn't necessarily bother me to see photos of someone on vacation. We only get one life, so go out and live your best one, as far as I'm concerned. But with that said, I also know a lot of Leafs fans personally who believe that players should put more of an emphasis on using the offseason to work hard to get better, so that next season's results are better.
I'm sure Marner is doing both, but I think the main message here from Cherry is that you can spend your time any way you wish. Just don't plaster it all over social media and rub it in people's faces right after another first round loss.
