Don Cherry at 92: Age, Wife Luba, Net Worth and Why He Was Fired

Who is Don Cherry?

Donald Stewart Cherry grew up in Kingston, Ontario, the oldest of Del and Maude Cherry's two sons. He left high school early, signed with the Hershey Bears in 1954 and spent about 16 seasons in the minor leagues before he ever coached an NHL game.

He dressed for one NHL playoff game with the Boston Bruins as a player. The coaching career is what made him famous. He took over the Bruins in 1974, won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 1976, and reached the Stanley Cup Final twice. Both times his team lost to the Montreal Canadiens.

In 1980 he joined Hockey Night in Canada. Coach's Corner turned him into a Saturday night ritual for hockey families across the country. He stayed in that chair for 38 years, longer than most of the players he criticised were alive.

The career timeline

• 1934Born in Kingston, Ontario, on February 5.
• 1954Signs with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League at age 20.
• 1954 to 1970sPlays about 16 seasons in the minor leagues and dresses for one NHL playoff game with Boston.
• 1974Named head coach of the Boston Bruins.
• 1976Wins the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year.
• 1977 and 1978Reaches the Stanley Cup Final twice. Loses to Montreal both times.
• 1979Let go by Boston after a Game 7 loss to Montreal.
• 1979 to 1980Coaches the Colorado Rockies for one season.
• 1980Joins Hockey Night in Canada. Coach's Corner begins.
• 1980 to 2019Hosts Coach's Corner alongside Ron MacLean for 38 seasons.
• November 9, 2019Makes the poppy comments on Coach's Corner.
• November 11, 2019Sportsnet ends his role.
• 2019 to 2025Hosts Don Cherry's Grapevine Podcast, 313 episodes in total.
• June 2025Signs off the podcast.
• March 2026Federal Conservatives launch a petition to nominate him for the Order of Canada.

The Bruins years

Cherry's Boston teams were built around Bobby Orr and a hard, physical style that matched the coach's personality. In 1976 he won the Jack Adams Award after a 48 win season. The Bruins reached the final in 1977 and 1978, and lost to Montreal both times, which was the defining frustration of his coaching career.

His tenure ended after the 1979 playoff series against Montreal. A too many men penalty in Game 7 became the moment fans still argue about. Boston let him go, and he spent one season with the Colorado Rockies before television came calling.

Coach's Corner and Ron MacLean

Coach's Corner ran during the first intermission of Hockey Night in Canada. Cherry was loud, opinionated and deliberately old fashioned. Ron MacLean was the calm partner who kept the segment moving. Their back and forth became as familiar as the second period itself.

MacLean joined in 1986 after Dave Hodge left. The pairing lasted more than 30 years. Cherry's segment was never just about hockey. He talked about soldiers, police officers, minor hockey parents and whatever else had annoyed him that week.

Why was Don Cherry fired?

On November 9, 2019, Cherry used his Coach's Corner segment to complain that newcomers to Canada were not wearing poppies for Remembrance Day. The remarks drew a fast and widespread backlash. Sportsnet apologised the next day, and network president Bart Yabsley announced on November 11 that Cherry's role had ended.

The network called the remarks divisive. Cherry has consistently said he was talking about honouring veterans, not about immigrants, and that his wording could have been better. He did not apologise for the underlying message.

The firing ended a 38 year run. It also made him more popular with a section of the country that felt he had been treated unfairly. That argument is still running in 2026, and it is part of why the Order of Canada petition exists.

The 2025 feud with Ron MacLean

The partnership did not survive the years after the firing. In July 2025, MacLean gave an interview to the Kingston Whig Standard in which he linked Cherry's 2019 departure to a pneumonia scare during the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. MacLean suggested Cherry had been looking for a way out of the job.

Cherry responded through the Toronto Sun. He said he was very disappointed that MacLean would bring it up five years later, and that MacLean should let it go. His wife Luba was angrier. According to Cherry, she said MacLean was not welcome in their home and should not contact them.

Cherry did confirm he was treated for pneumonia after returning to Canada. He denied MacLean's account that he was taken to hospital in Boston during the final.

The podcast years

After television, Cherry moved to audio. Don Cherry's Grapevine Podcast began in late 2019 and ran for 313 episodes, with his son Tim as co-host. The show reached about 6.5 million downloads.

The final episode was posted in June 2025. Cherry signed off with a short goodbye, and Tim told The Canadian Press he did not expect new episodes. The feed has since been used occasionally by Tim and by Cindy's son Del, including an episode about Cindy's posthumous book.

Don Cherry's net worth

Estimates of Don Cherry's net worth sit between 12 and 14 million US dollars. The figure is not published by him or his family. It is built from public reporting on his contracts, his video business and his books.

His Hockey Night in Canada salary was widely reported at roughly 1 million dollars a season by the late 2010s. The Rock'em Sock'em Hockey video series sold steadily for decades. He has also published several books, done endorsements, and owned or lent his name to bars and restaurants.

If you see a much higher number online, treat it with caution. Figures above 20 million dollars are not supported by any of the major net worth trackers.

Where is Don Cherry now?

Don Cherry lives in Mississauga, Ontario, with his wife Luba. He has been in the Greater Toronto Area for years and is still a recognisable figure around the city.

He no longer has a regular broadcast or podcast. He gives the occasional interview, comments on hockey when asked, and shows up in the news whenever his name is attached to a honour or a feud. At 92 he is still capable of starting an argument, which is roughly what he has done for most of his life.

The Cherry family

This is the section most other pages get wrong. Cindy Cherry, Don's daughter, died in July 2024. Any page that still lists her as a living family member is out of date.

The suits and the dog

Cherry's jackets were half the act. Plaid, floral, tartan, pinstripe, sometimes all in one garment. The tall starched collars came with them. Many of the suits were made in Canada by tailors he used for years, and a few ended up in museums.

Then there was Blue. Blue was a white bull terrier who appeared on Coach's Corner in the 1980s and 1990s and became as famous as his owner. Cherry owned several bull terriers over the years, and he gave every one of them the same name.

2026: the Order of Canada push

In March 2026, federal Conservatives launched a petition to nominate Don Cherry for the Order of Canada. The move drew immediate pushback from several Quebec Conservatives, who argued that his record did not meet the standard. The Prime Minister's office, under Mark Carney, declined to comment.

No decision has been announced. The petition is a political story as much as a hockey one. Cherry has supporters who see the honour as overdue and critics who see the nomination as a provocation.

He already holds the Order of Ontario. He is not in the Hockey Hall of Fame, despite a long campaign from fans who believe his broadcasting career deserves a place there.

In his own words

• You people that come here, whatever it is, you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you could pay a couple of bucks for a poppy.

  Coach's Corner, November 9, 2019

• I'm very disappointed in Ron that he would bring this up. He should let it go.

  Toronto Sun interview, July 2025

• Well, Tim, this is our last show. Thanks everybody for listening and toodaloo.

  Final Grapevine episode, June 2025

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