I wrote this piece just after the Matt Cooke suspension was assessed.  Unfortunately, my day jobs sometimes get in the way, I didn’t finish in a pertinent time frame.  Well, Todd Bertuzzi has opened the door for me to submit my thoughts again.

The punishment that Matt Cooke got for his flagrant violation is appropriate.  What Matt Cooke did was completely unacceptable.  You can try and justify it anyway you want.  You can say he tried to pull up at the last second,but you’re wrong.  This action is a complete lack of respect for other players, the NHL and the Penguins.  I like Matt Cooke as a player when he plays his game within the confines of acceptable play.  Certainly, he plays right on the edge of that fine line on a daily basis.  That is what he needs to do to be successful.  Blatantly elbowing a helpless player to the head is way over that fine line.  Add to it, that this is something that Cooke has done repeatedly and this becomes flat out disrespect.

In his actions, he disregarded the leagues attempts to eliminate hits to the head and he showed a lack of regard for his own team.  By his actions, he opened the door for the Rangers to come back and win the game.  Cooke is a valuable player.  When he does these things, he takes himself out of the line-up which lessens the teams overall effectiveness.  His actions do, also, make Lemeiux and his stance on cleaning up the league look hypocritical.  If Lemieux is serious about changing things in the NHL, he needs to start with his own team. READ MORE »