The Pittsburgh Post Gazette is reporting that Matt Cooke has had his phone hearing with NHL chief disciplinarian Colin Campbell regarding his head shot on Marc Savard this past Sunday.
No decision has been made regarding a suspension, but if one were to come down, it is expected to be later today.
When asked for comment on whether or not he would be suspended, Matt Cooke told the Post Gazette, “I can’t answer that.”
See the article here: Post Gazette Report
I almost have the feeling Cooke gets off easy based on the comments from pundits earlier this week that under the old rules that technically this was a “legal” hit.
and there in lies the problem….
Head shots are legal in the NHL
My thinking is that Campbell and the league didn’t want a ton of double standard talk floating around… also, they didn’t want opponents of a head shot rule to come out and say: “Well, why are you changing rules. You just proved that you are policing these things already.”
Just my thoughts…
i agree brian, i gotta give the league some weird sick kudos for not suspending cooke no matter how perveted the reasoning is, they’ve long been critized for holding double standards and at least they stuck by the “rule book” on this one. had cooke been suspended but not richards or neil it’s just enforcing a double standard and just nakes a mockery out of the discplinary comittee even moreso.
now, that being said, cooke did deserve to be suspended. i like the way he plays, edgy and finishes his checks.. but when he dips into the grey areas i cant stand him. we don’t need that junk. it was a pathetic unnecessary hit on a defenseless man, and there is no room for that in hockey. at least we do get a positive out of this whole situation and that is finally some actual consideration by the league as to how to deal with this in the future. i hope they make sure that instances like this are dealt with harshly with no shades of gray. you hit someone in the head, you pay the price both with a suitable suspension and hefty fines all around to player coach and team.
The NHL could do nothing to Cooke despite the disastrous results of 1 hit. Shoulder to Head is legal, end of story…for this year. The poor handling of the Richards/Booth incident laid the groundwork. Colin Campbell removed himself from that decision because his son plays for Florida, which was the right thing to do at the time. Unfortunately, everyone else that factored into that did not handle it correctly and let Richards off the hook. I guarantee that had Cookie been suspended, an NHLPA grievance was going to be filed. If they made the statement then, this is a no brainer, minimum 10 games. Be very careful and read the wording of the new rule suggestion, someone is going to try to circumvent it eventually. More interestingly, Matt Cooke is UFA after this season, if Shero doesn’t lock him up. I am willing to bet some of the biggest voices against him will be asking for his services.
Keep in mind, this was Matt Cooke, what statement will be made when #8 breaks back into his usual careless game? Where will the NHL stand when it comes to having to discipline one of their most marketed players?