Penguins pest Matt Cooke helped the Rangers grab two important points today with this latest ploy to make Mario Lemieux look like a fool.
That sound you hear is one big, sarcastic gasp from the hockey world.
The ruling on supplemental discipline will have to come quickly, as the Penguins play Monday night in Detroit. Based on Cooke’s history and in light of recent elbow rulings, I expect Colin Campbell to sit Cooke for 10 games — a nice even number that equals the rest of Pittsburgh’s regular season. Even then, folks will surely cry foul that the NHL is not getting the message across. And perhaps rightly so.
The timing makes this an especially important decision for the NHL, coming on the heels of GM meetings where hits to the head, concussions, and player safety were the centerpieces. The NHL can’t afford to tread lightly on an issue that they supposedly just spent a week in Florida discussing.
League image aside, this also re-opens the public trial of Penguins owner Mario Lemieux, who was recently lambasted by the media and fans alike for speaking out against hockey violence after extending Matt Cooke’s contract in the Summer. Has Cooke bought himself a ticket out of Pittsburgh? How much longer can Lemieux tolerate a player whose actions on the ice continue to defy his ideals of the game?
