In a daylong Twitter tirade that began Friday morning, the former NHL agitator teed off on the Coyotes and “classless” coach Dave Tippett, for whom he played, and the league’s handling of the John Scott/All-Star debacle of 2015.
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Downie wished “a merry Christmas to all … and to all a good night,” but came back for a second round three hours later directed at hockey commentator Don Cherry and the NHL’s handling of concussions, a serious issue with which Downie dealt with on a personal level through his 12-year playing career.
“But I would have have did it three weeks earlier,” he followed. “NHL + concussions equal f— joke.”
“But again, I did what don cherry said to do every Saturday night. Just f— disgusted when I look back. Wish I never played.”
Downie, currently an NHL free agent, played 26 games last season for Tippett and the Coyotes until he was waived in January 2016. In 2013, upon being traded from the Avalanche to the Flyers, he was taken to a hospital following a fight with then-Capitals tough guy Aaron Volpatti, in which he suffered a concussion and a broken orbital bone.
