The Perfect Time to Set An Example

Now that Matt Cooke has sinned yet again, there are three actors that should have a role to play in his punishment.

First, there is the NHL, which must act to protect the game, Ryan McDonagh and the rest of the league.

Second, there is the NHLPA, which must act to protect the interests of both McDonagh and Cooke, and not just Cooke, as the union has usually done. You might also dream of a hockey world in which the NHLPA would have a thought for the sport at large, something beyond itself and the millionaires it represents, but that might be hoping for a bit much at this time.

Thirdly, there is the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise. Well, the franchise and Mario Lemieux, which is pretty much the same thing. Lemieux claimed the moral high ground last month, complaining to the Bettman administration in a very, very public way that goonery and headshots and all forms of hockey violence were not being treated with appropriate harshness.

Hypocrite, many cried, pointing to the fact that Cooke, arguably the best known cheap shot artist in the sport, plays for the Penguins.

So now the Pens are in a bit of a spot, aren't they? If they do nothing, they forfeit that high ground, and Lemieux loses the legitimacy to speak that he has earned through his brilliant playing career and tireless efforts to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

If this latest incident is to make any kind of a positive impact, the suspension to Cooke should be harsh and long. He simply doesn't give a care for the health and well-being of his fellow players, and has demonstrated that time and time again even though he is regarded as a good teammate.

So the NHL must deliver a stiff penalty commensurate with its supposedly hardened attitute against the type of head shot Cooke delivered upon McDonagh  on Sunday. Ten games is where you start, but might be unrealistic, given the NHL's lenient way of looking at these matters, particularly given that McDonagh stayed in the game.

Either way, Lemieux and the Pens can make their own statement. They could suspend Cooke for a game or two or more in addition to whatever the league. does. "Conduct detrimental to the team" could be the broad area that would cover such an incident and team-issued penalty.

Finally, the union needs to go along with whatever the league and the team decides. it could grieve or fight, but if Don Fehr does, he should do so knowing that like steroids in baseball, he would be going against the grain of what the hockey public believes is right and not right with the game.

None of this may happen this way, other than a certain league suspension. It may all be a fanciful way of imaging the way in which thoughtful people who truly believe in the game of hockey and understand its vulnerabilities could behave, rather than in simple self-interest. Pens GM Ray Shero spoke eloguently in favour of a blanket ban on head shots last week, and now he has a player under contract who obviously cares not a whit for the concussion concerns of the broader industry.

Imagine a response to this incident in which the league, team and union all acted in concert with the same broad goal in mind.

A guy can dream, can't he?

Comments

[Brian]

Damien you read my mind I personally feel teams should suspend players for hits like Matt Cooke does. I know hockey is a tough sport but to go out and stick your elbow to injure deserves a suspension from the team. But it is not as easy as it sounds you have the NHLPA to deal with and I am sure they would not be to happy. I hope the leagues comes down hard on Cooke 25 games would be nice what they should also do is give the Pens a $500 000 cap hit for a repeat offender.That would surely get under Mario's skin

[Doug Barnes]

I just heard an interview the Pens coach who clearly thinks something should be done in the way of a serious suspension.I am waiting for outrage from Mario Lemieux about how the game is getting too violent. There is no comparison between Chara's hit and this deliberate elbow to the head. I personally think Cooke should be suspended for the remainder of the season (10 games) and 4 more into the playoffs. he is a repeat offender who has been suspended several times in addition to the cheap shots that were not penalized. If the ;league dealt harshly with these deliberate violent non-hockey plays perhaps there would be less interest in the injuries that occur in the course of the game.

[O.Boy]

Yes, there should not be one hint of support of any kind for Cooke's hit from anyone on the Penquins team, or anywhere else in the NHL.

It wasn't accidental, it wasn't because of the speed of the game, or the equipment , or tough hockey, or a hockey hit with bad consequences, yada yada.

This was even worse than Gillies - it was so blatant.
Suck it up Mario, it's you paying one of the most dangerous types of hockey player.

[Ron]

This hit is what happens when you don't have a flat out ban on head shots and serious supplemental disipline to go along with it. The NHL continues to dance around this subject saying it will take hitting out of the game yada, yada. The IIHF and the CHL have it and the hockey still seems to contain good hits and great action. The GM's and the NHL just don't get it.

[Lewis McClain]

Cox..please relax, and go lay down. The equipment needs changed as Cherry has stated. I know you hate to acknowledge him being right, but it is so. Fix the pads, and the arenas. Then let the men play. Quit the hippie free love drivel.

[Neil]

The NHL is going to give him a Punisher Trophy this year. This Trophy is given to the most Stupid Re tarted and Reckless player in the NHL. By the way they are going to give him 2 games with 5 days of Pay to go along with it. He is the most valuable and the most skill full player the NHL has. It is players like him that the NHL front Office have jobs.

[decibul]

i agree. here is the perfect opportunity for mario to make a statement. it is in the penguins' power to see that cooke doesn't see the ice again( at least for the length of his contract). it's time to make an example. cooke has earned the dishonour.

[Gary]

Matt Cooke is a disgrace to himself, the NHL, the spirit of sportsmanship and should be suspended. For 1 year in my opinion.
This jerk has had multiple incidents of this nature, and he clearly doesn't get it. He is going to end somebody's career, and clearly only a suspension of that length will have an impact on this cement head. Maybe a year is not even enough.

Mario should also admonish him publicly, and buy out his contract to show sincerity about his statements.

[Mike]

Well said Damien. That hit was even more vicious than the standard "finishing a check" -type high hit, as it was 1) an intentional elbow, 2) a charge, 3) thrown well after the puck had left and 4) from the worst repeat offender in the league.
10 games from the league plus a strong condemnation from Pittsburgh ownership and a promise to sit Cooke down and explain the "new rules" of the Penguins to him would be the ideal result here.
I'm expecting more like 3 games and complete silence from the PA and Lemieux.

[Matt K]

i completely agree that he deserves 10 games or more, but you're nuts if you think that his own team should suspend him for "conduct detrimental to the team". no matter how hypocritical the Pens/Lemieux seem for keeping this no-talent cheap shot artist on their team, they can't simply bail themselves out by throwing Cooke under the bus. how do you think the rest of the Pens would feel having management that doesn't back a player in a bad situation? this isn't like parents punishing a child for misbehaving at school in addition to the teacher giving out a detention.

[Stephen]

Damien – Many great points. I would go further to say that this is a great example of how head shots should be handled on the ice. Five and a game for a hit to the head with obvious intent is exactly the right call for this type of action. Actually put that in the rule book along with an automatic two minute minor for any contact to the head and the NHL gets it right. Think about it. Cooke’s Five minute major cost the Penguins the game and points in the standings. If the NHL called head shots consistently like that, then it would definitely be a bigger deterrent than simply telling the players that they have to behave and “police” themselves. Imagine this happening in a game seven of a playoff series. Do you think that a team would have a guy like Cooke on the ice if they thought that he could cost them a chance to win the Stanley Cup if they knew that his actions would bring an automatic five and a game? Take the “judgment” out of the call and make it a concrete, black-and-white rule and you go a long way to taking this out of the game.

[j-rock]

Or maybe they could put him in the Hall-of-Fame like the king of all headhunters, Scott Stevens.

[David Bacque]

Over 30 years a Penguins fan and I was watching yesterday....as surprising as I find it I agree with you 100%. Cooke missed his hit and compensated with a blatant attempt to injure elbow to the head. The penalty and subsequent 5 minutes cost the team the game. Great teammate; maybe the guys in the locker room like him but as a coach/GM/Owner you have to stop idiots from costing you games. Bust him big time I say - 25 games would send a message right?

[adam]

That elbow held out beside his head like that makes the intent to injure so obvious (along with Cooke's track record) that if this clown isn't gone for the season + playoffs at the very least, I may actually start thinking those reactive idiots at Air Canada et al may have a point. I'm also watching closely how the Pens (Mario) handle this one. Like Cox points out, if they don't do something themselves their input on the headshot/concussion situation becomes worthless.

[Wade]

I'm really not interested in what the NHL does in this case. It goes beyond cynical and pessimistic at this point. I am interested in what Lemieux does. If the Penguins don't discipline Cooke they lose all moral authority at and a chance to make positive changes to the game. Ban him from the team for the remainder of the season and, even better, the playoffs. It's the only fair approach.

[Aubrey]

Why would Mario Lemieux and the Penguins want to have their names associated with a thug like Matt Cooke ?. Are they waiting for that idiot to killsomebody ?. Buy out the remainder of his contract and tell him to get lost. He should have no problem getting a job as a bouncer at a strip club, with a resume stating he was a cheapshot artist in the NHL.

[AC]

All credibility is lost for the Pens already...look at the replay, and note that Cooke is wearing the "A" on his jersey??? Yes, a real team leader there, Mario??

[Koka]

How Penguins thought it was appropriate to stick the 'A' on Cooke is beyond me.

[Greg]

The problem with the NHL is they base their punishment on the end result and not the intent. Cooke's intent here was, simply put, to elbow a guy in the head. Period. It's unacceptable. It's potentially concussion causing and career ending. THAT is what the punishment should be based upon.

[othermark]

Shero and Lemieux have a chance to make a real statement, not just to Cooke and the Penguin's team but to the league at large. I believe they should put Cooke on waivers. For those on the Penguins that claim 'he's a good teamate'... well..he's not. Good teamates don't take stupid, unnecessary penalties, which was exactly what the play was. To the Penguins, their management is saying we won't tolerate this from our players. To the other teams in the league they are saying "we want to be part of the change. If you pick this guy up, it's clear you don't". Who knows, maybe other teams follow suite. If the NHL league office does what they normally do (minimal)..then it's up to others to lead. The Penguins, home to the league's most dynamic player, have that opportunity to lead.

[Chad]

While I do agree that it was an intentional forearm/elbow to the head, and that he should have a harsh judgement because he's a repeat offender.......I also have to wonder if it still would have been considered a suspendable offense if he had hit him his shoulder? From all angles shown, it looked like he could have done just as much damage if he had kept his arm down and hit him with his shoulder. And that to me would be considered a clean hit.

[BigM27]

Laughing at Mario Lemieux and Freddie Shero Jr. They have become fools. Cooke gets 5 games.

[Dude Love]

Quick! Some one call the Quebec police!

[hoofheartz]

Whatever adds up to 20 games (or more) would send a message. Rest of the regular season, playoffs and into next year if necessary. This clown just doesn't get it.

[Gordon Goodwin, 3 Summer St., Amherst, N.S. B4H 1N8]

From Gord:
Cooke definitely needs to have additional punishment tacked on to what ever the league dishes out. The penalty dished out by the referees needs to be assessed more often.
Two cases in point.
1. Benoit Poulet charge into Limburg the goalie for New York Rangers on Friday night March 18. No attemt to score, just run the goal.ie.
2. Brown from Toronto running over Tim Thomas on Saturday night. Did he try to shoot the puck? No! Both he and Poulit had the opportunity to shoot, but chose to run the goaltender.
Both of these actions scream out for 5 min majors and game misconduits for attempts to injure.
No need to fix the rules. The rules are in the book. The refs need to call the penalties. The two best players in the world has been sidelined by the lack of penalty calls. More than 3 strides is charging! Period. If the charge is against the boards its a 5 min call.
Just make the penalty calls and the head shot will disappear.
Thank you.
G.Goodwin, Amherst NS