Is It Time for Cooke to Go?

While I still thoroughly defend my opinion of Matt Cooke vs. Trevor Gillies (see previous post), I now have to ponder whether or not Cooke has/should have seen his last game in a Penguins sweater.

In the wake of his flagrant flying elbow to the face of Rangers' defenseman Ryan McDonagh, there is no doubt a suspension is coming from the NHL.  General consensus around the radio, newspapers, Twitter, etc., is that Cooke will receive 7-10 games on the shelf for this latest incident.  However, there is no logical entry into the mind of NHL chief-disciplinarian Colin Campbell when it come to suspensions.  Given Cooke's history, and cheap-shot poster boy status, and the NHL's general dissatisfaction with recent public criticisms made by Mario Lemieux, I wouldn't be surprised if the book were thrown at Cooke.

Regardless of NHL discipline, how do you think Mario and Ray Shero are feeling about Mr. Cooke this morning.  It was bad enough that their efforts to ban all head shots were thwarted, almost laughingly, by the Old Boys Club of NHL GMs at their annual meeting in Boca Raton, FL last week.  Now one of their own players has effectively rubbed their faces in it.  You have to think this a major embarrassment for an organization fighting for change in the modern NHL.

There are already sources being sited inside the Penguins organization that are in favor of a long-term suspension for Cooke.  But you have to believe that some of those "sources" have further, team-handled discipline in mind.  This may be one of the stupidest, most selfish, and costly hits I have ever seen.  It shows a complete disregard and lack of respect for other players and for Cooke's teammates.  I would not be surprised if the Penguins voluntarily sat him for the rest of the season, including playoffs, then dumped him in the offseason.

I, for one, am on the fence on the matter.  I know he's a great guy, he does great charity work, he's a great penalty killer, and he's definitely an above-average NHL third-liner.  I just don't know if I can continue to justify his presence given his recent actions.  The Bad, and The Ugly, by far outweigh The Good anymore.

A Message to All You Matt Cooke Haters

I'm completely sick of hearing about how I lack the right to complain about the antics of one Trevor Gillies because I'm a Penguins fan and my team employs Matt Cooke.  Below is an interaction I had with a friend via everyone's favorite social media outlet.  It began after seeing Trevor Gillies hit on Cal Clutterbuck last night.

My original post:

Now is the time for the NHL to make a statement. If Gillies sees another game this season I'm going to vomit!!!

My friend's reply:

Not sure how a pens fan can make a comment like this with matt cooke on the roster

My reply:

Oh, horseshit!!! Once again, Matt Cooke has absolutely nothing to do with this. Nor does being a Pens fan. But if we must...

Matt Cooke is a valuable player. He is part of the top PK line on the top PK team in the league. He leads the NHL in short handed points. He is an exceptional agitator that gets under other players' skins and makes it difficult for them to keep their heads in games. In 60 games played this season, he is averaging 15:43 minutes of ice time and has a total of 110 penalty minutes. Yes, he crosses the line from time to time and he deserves the discipline he receives when he does. The Marc Savard situation is unfortunate and I think the hit was negligent. But there have been, before and since, much worse acts that are much less recognized because the effects were much less substantial. Cooke's reputation suffers because of that one hit.

Trevor Gillies is an out and out goon. He serves his team in no valuable capacity. Since the beginning of his junior hockey career he has 16 goals and 47 assists for 63 points in 775 hockey games. In that same span he has 3,302 penalty minutes. In 33 NHL games played this season he is averaging 2:52 minutes of ice time and has a total of 124 penalty minutes. Gillies blatantly attacked Eric Tangradi from across the ice, delivering a forearm to the head against the glass and following through with a right to the face. Then when Tangradi is obviously injured (and still is to this day), Gillies grabs him and starts wailing on him until Craig Adams had to tackle him. After Gillies was escorted from the ice he stood in the runway, screaming at and taunting Tangradi until the trainers could help Tangradi off the ice. For this he gets a 9-game suspension, which is way too little if you ask me. Then last night 3 shifts into his return from suspension, he does it again. He took offense to a hit Cal Clutterbuck made, which was called boarding at the time, so Gillies ran Clutterbuck. Once again with a forearm to the head against the glass and a follow through left to the face. He got 5 minutes and a game misconduct for a blatant hit from behind that targeted the head with intent to injure.

So you tell me how these two guys are at all the same, because I just can't see it.

For the record, I am a hockey fan, first and foremost. Trevor Gillies is a danger to everyone around him when he steps on the ice and I find it disgusting that his teammates, coaches, and organization can find a basis on which to defend him.

The NHL needs to do something about this before someone gets killed on the ice. Steve Moore almost did, but Todd Bertuzzi is still playing. I at least thought a lesson was learned from that mess, especially by the league, but apparently not.