Don Cherry won’t wither on the vine in new NHL television deal

Any foreigner watching Tuesday's media conference announcing Rogers' landmark new broadcast deal with the NHL might have come to the following conclusions:

1) The bulk of Rogers' $5.2 billion outlay was spent to secure Don Cherry's future;

2) Canadians lose a lot of sleep worrying about Don Cherry;

3) Don Cherry is Canadian royalty.

That Don himself may share those beliefs notwithstanding, it truly was a bizarre sight as the fate of a garishly dressed television sideshow seemed to take precedence over the biggest deal in Canadian sports broadcasting, a pact that all but signals the end of CBC's six-decades reign as the home of the country's national game.

After a few questions about the size of the deal, the impact on Canadian hockey fans and the future of Hockey Night In Canada, the fate of Don Cherry became one of the key focal points. Those on the hot seats were all but falling over themselves to assure fretful media types that those loud jackets weren't going anywhere.

When Rogers Media president Keith Pelley replied to a question about Cherry that no decisions had been made on personnel, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman almost fell off his chair in trying to defuse a potential firestorm lest anyone think Grapes was on his way out.

“Don Cherry is a great talent and a good friend, and obviously it’s somebody who we take very seriously as part of the game,” Bettman said before conjuring up ancient Greek mythology to make his point. “Ultimately, it’s something we’ll discuss, but I didn’t want anybody to take Keith’s very well-said comment to somehow represent the sword of Damocles, because I don’t think it was that.”

It was almost as if they had bought the rights to Christmas and were trying to assure the kiddies that Santa Claus hadn't been given a pink slip.

Cherry himself has reignited the fires of concern, telling Brian Williams on his daily radio spot Thursday that he's not sure what's happening. ``I have no idea," he said about his future. ``I have a contract for Hockey Night In Canada and that's the one I'm concentrating (on) right now."

Well, the country can sleep easily. Don Cherry will be a Saturday night fixture for at least another four years -- or as long as he can keep going. In fact, Pelley raised the possibility that Canadians could see even more Don Cherry, a prospect that has a significant portion of the anti-Cherry forces cancelling their cable subscriptions.

“Don could appear on seven different networks,” he said.

Rogers is smart enough to stay away from riling Cherry Nation by putting him out to pasture. Imagine the torch-and-pitchfork parade that would produce.

Besides, the man is still a big draw. While it's a myth that ratings increase when Coach's Corner comes on, the segment holds the audience -- something no other intermission show in North America can do.

And whatever baggage Cherry brings is more than offset by that. After all, Rogers is going to try to squeeze every dollar out of hockey to pay that $5.2-billion bill and it's not going to turn its back on a ratings success.

While CBC had to put out more than a few brush fires caused by some of Cherry's xenophobic comments, the fact is today's Don Cherry comes with a lot less luggage.

He's still controversial, which is what he's supposed to be. But outside of his incessant promotion of hockey violence, he's nowhere near as offensive as he once was. Knocks against ``those French guys" and comments questioning the manhood of Europeans have all but disappeared from his weekly rants.

There might be a few changes in store for the 79-year-old, though. With CBC at the controls, Cherry became the face of Hockey Night In Canada. He dominated the broadcast and even when he was off the air, his opinions were often debated (and usually supported) by the rest of the show's talking heads.

With Rogers at the controls, that could change. But at worst, he'll have a slightly reduced influence on the broadcasts. They might not allow him to plug his fight-filled DVDs, especially since CBC gets a cut, but everything else will be business as usual -- at least until CBC's four-year deal with Rogers to show Saturday night hockey comes to an end. After that, all bets are off and by then Cherry will be 84 so it may not matter anyway.

Until then, one tailor will be kept in business.