Don Cherry rips Nazem Kadri: 'Just shut your mouth and play hockey'

Nazem Kadri is one of very few who checks off all the boxes. 

He's a homegrown, Ontario-born Toronto Maple Leaf who, when motivated, can effectively blend top-end skill with a mean spirit on the ice. 

But in meeting Don Cherry's specific and somewhat dated criteria for what makes a winning hockey player, Kadri has drawn Grapes' wrath once again. 

"Every time I look in the paper, he’s doing all his yapping," Cherry said in a radio appearance with Sportsnet 590 The Fan. "For five goals, for Christ sakes, he’s got more to say than anybody.

"Just shut your mouth and play hockey, that’s what I’d say."

The basis of Cherry's attack is somewhat unclear, but his words represent a stark contrast from two seasons ago, when he famously landed a kiss on Kadri's cheek after the young forward scored a hat trick against the Ottawa Senators.

That said, Kadri's offensive insufficiency has been screaming loud all season. He has just five goals in 23 games and was dropped from his power-play unit.