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Whose Career Will Be Ended Before Cooke's Punished?

February 8, 2011, 10:27 PM ET [ Comments]
Ty Anderson
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • RSSArchiveCONTACT
It's easy for me, or any NHL blogger for that matter, to sit here and bemoan about the antics of Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke. And as we watch the Crosby and Malkin-less Penguins skate with each passing game, it appears that Cooke's doing his best to reinforce his reputation as one of the NHL's biggest dirtbags among fans. Going beyond Marc Savard's current state, and certainly not about any sort of Boston versus Pittsburgh rivalry, it's becoming an issue of pure safety in the NHL moving forward.

Simply put, this guy is out of control.

Just two days removed from a tremendous knee-on-knee hit against NHL super-mega-ultra star Alexander Ovechkin in the closing minutes of the third period, Cooke's antics continued tonight when he delivered a dangerous looking board on Columbus' Fedor Tyutin.



What else is new though, right?

Arguably the final straw that led to the much-discussed Rule 48 following his disgusting hit on Savard last March, Cooke walks (and crosses) the fine line between playing with an edge and being a downright dirty player. Known as an agitator who can also provide some skill on the penalty-kill for the Penguins, there's a difference between Cooke and a guy like Sean Avery or even Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta.

Despite what you may say about a player like Avery or Kaleta, there's a difference in their make-up as a hockey player: They don't play to maim. And while we can sit here and ponder as to whether or not Cooke's a misunderstood forward who's been dealt a crap hand when it comes to how he hits people, you simply can't say this guy doesn't play with an intent to injure more often than not.

Even to the most insanely Penguins-crazed fan, it's impossible to defend the actions of this forward who's somehow managed to be suspended just twice since the start of the 2009 calendar year.

But rather than link you up with thousands of YouTube videos, with enough evidence of his over the top play, here's a great compilation of his cheap-shottery featuring some great comments from Don Cherry among others.



So, just who's going to be the next unfortunate soul that's carted off on a stretcher?

How about the next capable player to be sidelined and gifted with the haunting proneness of recurring concussion symptoms for the rest of his life? We've (ironically) seen and heard more about the effects of concussions than ever before thanks to the concussion sustained by Sidney Crosby along with the horrific ordeal that the Bruins' Savard is currently going through as he resides in his home in Peterborough, Ont., unable to help Boston's quest for a Stanley Cup this year.

However, when it comes to 'Cookie', enough is enough. He's dodged the bullet long enough, it's time to send a real message to Cooke and the Penguins before somebody's killed. Be it the person he leveled or Cooke himself after pushing the envelope too far.

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