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Don Cherry shuts down retirement rumours after appearing to call it quits

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
|
Jun 25 2025, 3:27 pm
Don Cherry shuts down retirement rumours after appearing to call it quits

Don Cherry might not be retiring after all.

The 91-year-old made headlines earlier this week with what appeared to be an official statement of retirement, saying farewell to the Grapevine podcast that he’d been running with his son Tim since 2019.

“Don Cherry Says Goodbye in Final Podcast,” a tweet from his account posted on Monday afternoon reads.

The actual “goodbye” portion of the podcast was rather quiet, occurring in the final minute of the episode.

“Well, Tim, this is our last show,” Cherry said matter-of-factly. “Thanks everybody for listening, and toodaloo!”

But according to a new interview with the Toronto Sun’s Joe Warmington, Cherry only meant to sign off for the season.

“I’m coming back next season,” he told Warmington. “I can’t wait.”

“We just meant to say goodbye for this year,” he added. “We always do that at the end of the season. There’s no more hockey this year so there’s no podcast for the summer. I guess we should have said for the season.”

Cherry had been off the air from CBC and Sportsnet since November 2019, following his comments about a perceived lack of immigrants wearing poppies around Remembrance Day, comments on which he has since doubled down multiple times.

Cherry was also the subject of a recent book by his daughter Cindy, who passed away in 2024 before its release earlier this year.

“Writing from a privileged insider’s perspective, Cindy Cherry offers a frank account of her father’s life and career in front of and behind the camera, on and off the ice — not to mention behind the bench,” the book’s Amazon description reads. “Touching on everything from his playing days and coaching career to his rise as one of Canada’s most sought-after broadcasters and product spokespersons.”

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