Multiple outlets are reporting that Matt Cooke has inked a 3-year pact to stay with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The contract is apparently going to pay Cooke $1.8 mil per season and gives the feisty forward a NTC.
GM Ray Shero would not confirm that a deal was done during an AM interview on 105.9 the X in Pittsburgh, however the deal is done. Our friends over at Pensuniverse, who have partnered with Matt Cooke’s Charity, the Cooke Family Foundation of Hope, got the news from the horses mouth earlier this morning… hat tip boys…
This is a big name that Ray Shero can now scratch off of his list of potential UFAs. He can now get focused on his work with Sergei Gonchar’s camp, which to this point has not gone as smoothly as the talks with Matt Cooke.
Stay tuned… seems that the week will only get more interesting.
*Grin*
Both sides won. Penguin fans can breathe a sigh of relief finally.
Nice…
Not bad at all. I would’ve loved to see him sign for a little less but I would’ve actually expected him to sign for a little over 2 so this works for me. If he plays the next 3 years like he did this past year then that’s a great deal.
The Lovejoy deal is even better. I realize he has yet to really prove himself in the NHL other than as an injury callup but you see players like that making much closer to $1 million per year all the time. He has looked perfectly capable of playing full time on the bottom pairing at least and at that price as long as he’s not losing games for us then it’s a great deal.
There was probably a good $750,000 per year left on the table between these two contracts if not more. Here’s hoping Lovejoy can secure the 5 or 6 spot this season.
Considering what Cookie is alleged to have signed for, I think this is a pretty good deal for the Pens. You get to keep a gritty forward who is a capable penalty killer and able to pop in 12-15 goals a season.
From what I understand, he is also a pretty good locker room guy, and is one of those vital role players that no team wishing to challenge for a Stanley Cup can be without.
Kudos to GM Ray Shero for getting this done in advance of July 1st.
Great deal. Cooker give a lot for a player under $2 mill a year.
When you compare Cooke’s contract to players like Ruutu and Neil, Matt could have easily gotten more. The cap hit is $200K less over all. I would also point out that this new contract ends at the same time as Jordan Staal, that’s going to be a fun offseason.
Oh man, same time as Staal, Shero is going to have a couple of nasty off seasons ahead of him anyway!
really glad to see Cooke signed..time to get the jersey!