Don Cherry might not be out of work for long.

One day after the iconic Canadian hockey pundit was fired by Sportsnet for xenophobic remarks made on Saturday night’s Hockey Night in Canada telecast, a Russian team has publicly recruited Cherry to come aboard as a TV analyst.

HC Dynamo Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League tweeted on Tuesday that it wants the 85-year-old Cherry to serve as a commentator for their television broadcasts with a nod to his trademark flamboyant wardrobe.

“Hey, Don Cherry @CoachsCornerDC,” read the tweet from the club’s verified feed, the lone English-language post from the account this month. “We heard that you were fired. It’s not good! Come to Russia, we need an analyst for Dynamo TV who could talk whatever he thinks. We love old soldiers. And we will make a nice suit! We hope you agree.”

HC Dynamo Moscow (@dynamo_ru) Hey, Don Cherry @CoachsCornerDC. We heard that you were fired. It’s not good!



Come to Russia, we need an analyst for Dynamo TV who could talk whatever he thinks. We love old soldiers. And we will make a nice suit!



We hope you agree. #WeAreDynamo pic.twitter.com/5WiwikHZgQ

Cherry, who has been in hot water repeatedly down the years for his outspoken conservative politics, seemed to single out new immigrants in Toronto and Ontario during a commentary on Saturday for not wearing poppies in honoring Canada’s military veterans and dead soldiers ahead of Remembrance Day.

“Forget it with downtown Toronto, nobody wears the poppy … You people who come here, whatever it is, you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that,” Cherry said during his Coach’s Corner segment. “These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price.”

Both Sportsnet president Bart Yabsley and co-host Ron MacLean had apologized for the legendary broadcaster’s comments in the days since the telecast, but it was Cherry’s apparent refusal to back down that prompted his dismissal.

Hockey pundit Don Cherry fired by Sportsnet over xenophobic poppy rant Read more

“I could’ve stayed on if I wanted to and knuckled under, and turned into a simp, but that’s not my style,” Cherry said in an interview with Toronto radio station Newstalk 1010 on Monday night. “I’m unemployed now after 38 years. It’s kind of strange to be unemployed, halfway through the season. And of all days Remembrance Day. It’s sad.”

He characterized his comments as “one little slip” and appeared to reference cancel culture in discussing “all the guys that have gone” in the entertainment industry.

“It is the most toughest business in the world,” he said. “You make one little slip and you’re gone. After 38 years, which is kind of tough to do, but you got to be tough in this business. You can’t whine about it. You’re gone, you’re gone.”

Sportsnet’s president had described Cherry’s comments as “divisive” in the statement announcing his termination on Monday.

“Sports brings people together - it unites us, not divides us. Following further discussions with Don Cherry after Saturday night’s broadcast, it has been decided it is the right time for him to immediately step down,” the statement read. “During the broadcast, he made divisive remarks that do not represent our values or what we stand for.

“Don is synonymous with hockey and has played an integral role in growing the game over the past 40 years. We would like to thank Don for his contributions to hockey and sports broadcasting in Canada.”