Don Cherry couldn’t wait to express his anger.
Appearing on Coach’s Corner with Ron MacLean, Cherry was insistent that Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid was not injured on an innocent “hockey play” and believes the Philadelphia Flyers intended to hurt him.
“Connor was hurt on purpose. I’m telling you they meant to drive him into the boards,” Cherry said Saturday night on Hockey Night in Canada.
“They should’ve let up a little. You’ll see as he’s going down they give him a little shot. He doesn’t have a chance.”
McDavid suffered a broken clavicle when he was driven into the boards awkwardly by Flyers defencemen Michael Del Zotto and Brandon Manning.
“They’re both looking at him and they drive him into the boards,” said Cherry. “Don’t tell me they’re vulnerable…Hockey guys like me know they drove him into the boards.
The Oilers forward underwent surgery this week and he is expected to miss at least three months of action.
McDavid scored five goals with seven assists in his first 13 NHL games, and was named rookie of the month for October.