Sportsnet grooming the perfect Don Cherry replacement?!

Don Cherry isn’t getting any younger, but he still has people talking with his opinions and take on the great sport of hockey. 

This season, Cherry has made headlines quite a few times with his hate for the Carolina Hurricanes and their antics. At first, he wasn’t a fan of their ‘Storm Surge’ celebrations after wins at PNC Arena throughout the regular season and called the players a “bunch of jerks” for going through with them. Instead of backing down, the Hurricanes stepped it up, debuting “Bunch of Jerks” t-shirts shortly after, which they recently revamped after Cherry attacked them and their breaking attendance records. 

Cherry’s quite the character that fans love to hate, but his presence on Hockey Night in Canada won’t last forever. That’s why I am starting to think that Sportsnet is grooming the perfect replacement for Cherry. 

You’ve guessed it: Brian Burke is the man. 

Burke has been a regular member of the Sportsnet’s panel on game nights and has in own segment To The Point, in which he makes sure criticize everything in the game and tell people how it should be. 

His analysis is quite good: you can’t deny that Burke knows his s**t around the NHL. However, is he as likeable and entertaining as Cherry? 

The unique thing about Grapes is that he is capable of coming across as somewhat likeable despite his know-it-all persona. He can be a bigoted loudmouth at his worst, but he remains appealing to people.

Is Burke as appealing to Canadians? I guess that is what Sportsnet and CBC are trying to figure out…