Toronto sportswriter criticizes Jerry York for missing Hall of Fame game, gets ripped on Twitter

Tommy McArdle

Toronto sportswriter criticizes Jerry York for missing Hall of Fame game, gets ripped on Twitter image

The Hockey Hall of Fame's 2019 induction weekend kicked off Friday when five inductees arrived in Toronto to accept their rings and take in the annual Hall of Fame Game.

There was one notable absence. Boston College men's hockey coach Jerry York, being inducted into the Hall of Fame this weekend as a builder, opted not to take part in Friday's ceremony. Why? Well, it was a Friday night in November — York had a game to coach.

HOCKEY HALL OF FAME: 
BROWNCARBONNEAU | HUGHSON |
WICKENHEISER | YORKZUBOV

No. 16 Boston College beat Vermont, 5-1, in a Hockey East matchup Friday, and York earned his 1,074th victory as a collegiate head coach while the Hall of Fame game played out in Toronto. A few media members lamented York's absence:

To say those comments ruffled a few feathers on Twitter would be putting it lightly.

Several media members who have covered York and his teams for years rose to the 74-year-old coach's defense, noting that his commitment to the collegiate game is what has earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame — and that his insistence on coaching BC before he joins his fellow inductees for Sunday's Legends game and Monday's official ceremony is exactly in-character.

NESN analysts spoke out on Simmons' comments after the Boston-based network's broadcast of Friday's Leafs-Bruins game.

"If anything it's a tribute, in my opinion, for Jerry York to say, 'I've got a team to coach, these are my kids. I've made a commitment to them. I'm going to honor that commitment,'" NESN host Dale Arnold said.

York's Eagles play Vermont again Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The Eagles are 6-4 so far this season.

And for Simmons' part, he admitted Saturday morning that he would change the wording "idiotic" to "disrespectful" but still stood by his original tweet.

Tommy McArdle