Don Cherry sends a special message to his fans on Sunday.

Fans got a special message from Canadian hockey legend Don Cherry on Sunday and, although it was a fairly brief message, it showed tremendous class on the part of Don to think of others at a difficult time in his life.

On Sunday, Don took to social media to wish all of his longtime followers a very happy easter, sending the message out alongside a photograph of him in one of his infamous suits. The photograph appeared to be a screenshot of Don from his time on Coach's Corner, but somewhat unsurprisingly it featured only Don in the photo with his co-host seemingly intentionally cut out of the portrait.

That Don took the time to send the message at all is a testament to just how much he loves and appreciates his fans, as this is an extremely difficult time in the life of the Canadian hockey icon.

Over the weekend Don announced that his daughter, Cindy Cherry, was finally having her book released but it was no doubt a bittersweet moment for Don. While there's no doubt in my mind that Don is extremely proud of the work his daughter put into that book, Cindy never got to see her book published herself after tragically passing away earlier this year.

In spite of this terrible personal tragedy for a father, Don continues to think of others and perhaps that should come as no surprise. One of the many who responded positively to Don's message today was former Breakfast Television employee Brad Smith who shared a beautiful story about the selflessness of Don Cherry that he personally witnessed first hand. For the sake of preserving Brad's beautiful story, I am sharing it unedited and in full:

A quick story about Don Cherry:

I worked at breakfast television from 2013-15. Don came in after Roger's bought the NHL rights. Global superstars had walked into this building, and I'd never seen our staff as excited.

As soon as he stepped into the building, every single person had their eyes on him. He did his segment with Ron, and it ended at 7:45 a.m. And then the most surprising thing happened.

He didn't do what every other famous person does: have their people pull them away. Rush out, jump into their car, and whisk away.

He took a picture with the on-air crew, and then turned and said, "Hey, anyone else want to grab a shot?" Our camera guy rushed over. And then one after one, everyone waited their turn to get their moment.

But Don stayed in the studio, no word of a lie; he must have been there for an hour and a half. He shook everyone's hand, he took every photo that was asked for, he looked in everyone's eyes and had conversations no matter how long, and this wasn't just tv people. It was everyone from our executives to the security guards and even the janitor. It didn't matter who you were, the colour of your skin. He was polite, gracious, and genuinely engaging.

He stayed until everyone had gotten their moment. It was one of the most impressive acts I'd ever seen, and he didn't have to do it. Again, we had global superstars in the building that wouldn't look at you, let alone talk to you! And Don stood in the corner and made space for anyone that wanted to. Not for his ego, but because he uniquely loved Canadians that had invested in him.

Hockey has never been the same.

God bless you, Don.

And with this kind gesture from Don Cherry and a wonderful story from Brad Smith, I would like to wish all of our readers a very happy Easter as well.