NOW WHAT, MARIO? After latest Matt Cooke hit, time for Mr. Lemieux to make an even bigger statement
CB at The New York Times: Matt Cooke does it again
UPDATE: Cooke suspended for remainder of regular season (ten games) plus the first round of the playoffs. Penguins GM Ray Shero called the punishment “appropriate.”
This was always the strange thing about Mario Lemieux’s decision to release a statement in the aftermath of Ferocious Friday and subsequent sentencing of Trevor Gillies. He continued to employ, as is his right, Matt Cooke on his Penguins. Lemieux had to know the time would come when he’d have egg on his face after another flagrant elbow by Cooke.
That’s the thing about recidivists like Cooke (to use the Michael Farber word about Chris Simon). They rarely disappoint. Thankfully, Ryan McDonough was not hurt by this cheap shot, but oops…Cooke did it again. Who knows how long he’ll be suspended for, but the dirty agitator did cost his team a game they were leading 2-1 in the third period.
Wouldn’t it be something if Lemieux took a stand before the NHL got its chance? You know, like college teams do when they suspend players or coaches in hopes of doing the NCAA’s work for them. Lemieux, in record time, has a chance to do something dramatic here. He can release or waive Cooke. He can suspend him for the rest of the season and the playoffs. (Yeah, I know, the NHLPA would probably put up a fight; let them).
What we don’t want is for Mario Lemieux to leave the game, as he said he would if the unnecessary violence continued. Don’t let Matt Cooke take you away from the game and the league you have impacted so positively. It’s your turn to make another statement, Mr. Lemieux.
Surprisingly, we haven’t heard from Penguins’ fans much today, after getting a lot of lectures from them after Feb. 9. Your comments on all this are welcomed.
131 Responses to NOW WHAT, MARIO? After latest Matt Cooke hit, time for Mr. Lemieux to make an even bigger statement
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Staten Islander says:
Very well said CB.
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Steven says:
Cooke has no business in the NHL. Decision time Mario.
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pat h says:
Mario is a joke to make those statements previously and I said to my friend..what’s he gonna publicly say when Cooke does something again…didn’t take long…just a little over a month for him to make a seriously bad decision…if Mario waives him he will gain my respect again..anything other is a joke.
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AJAX says:
A statement will be made by Mario. Just a statement to the press. That’s all.
A statement will be made by the NHL, expect a lesser suspension than Gillies.
Count on it.
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Truth says:
Cooked
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mario buster says:
Cricket noise …cricket noise…cricket noise…etc.
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The NHL needs to act like a pro league and get rid of Cooke once and for all.
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nyi fan 16 says:
Im not holding my breath..mario is a hypocrite as are all pens fans who whined about the isles being goons.
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Captain Crunch says:
Very well written, CB.
And Mario will seal his post-playing days reputation by either suspending or waiving Cooke and standing by his comments about Gillies, or by showing that it was all BS and that he will employ any headhunter that will help him win.
Don’t call out other teams’ players when you have your own Hired Goon on the payroll.
Tick tock. I can’t wait to hear what say you, Mario.
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Cold Spring Harbor says:
Lock Cooke in The Igloo since they aren’t using the building anymore as his solitary confinement. Penguins look to be a first round exit this year as the team is out of steam without their stars.
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Patrick says:
I’m ok with this one.
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We all know whats going to happen. Somebody will defend this and call it a “hockey play” gone wrong. Think about who deals out the disipline for the league these days. If he wore Blue and Orange they’d be getting ready for the crucifixion about now
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mtrico says:
I’d be shocked if Mario said anything. Cooke will get a slap on the wrist (in comparison to the minimum 20 games he should get) from Campbell and will back in time for Mario and the rest of the Pens to welcome him back for the playoffs. I have no doubt.
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Adam says:
The unfortunate thing is that unless Cooke gets more than ten games, the suspension will not affect the team at all. Lemieux would be smart to suspend him. He sidesteps criticism yet doesn’t hurt his team that is all but in the playoffs. All it will do is give Cooke a break before the playoffs. Yeah, cooke loses some cash. I think the NHL should fine the Pens for letting this idiot loose.
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Ethan K says:
If he doesn’t make a stand, I could care less if he leaves hockey. Run away, be a poor sport and let your team employ players who have every intention of injuring others, while you cry about how your team got spanked by the 14th place Isles and couldn’t fight back.
Matt Cooke needs to be thrown out of the league.
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Jon in Chicago says: Shot to the head (like Gillies), repeat offender (way more repeats than Gillies). How does Cooke get any less than a 10-game suspension? How could that possibly be justified?
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Isles6 says:
Don’t worry folks, his water-boy Colin Campbell will have Mario’s back…he will say, he paid his price already, he was ejected. What a joke.
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vrinqueens says:
Gillies gets 10 games for a shoulder to shoulder hit after a dirty cross check because he was a “repeat” offender in Colon’s book, Cooke literally tries to take that guys head off……Hmmm I say 3 games tops. It is the Penguins after all and not the “lowly” Isles. (sarcasm intended)
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Paul C says:
This was much worse than anything Gillies did, if Cooke gets less than ten, shame on the league.
I like what Lemieux did in Pitt, but Cooke should go.
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claude says:
Looks very similar to the hit Gilles got ten for. If he gets less than ten, It will only prove that the jersey your donning when laying your concussive elbow is as, if not more important than the act itself.
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James from Swindles says:
I would like the NHL to surprise me and suspend him for the rest of the season (at least). Make that “statement” everyone keeps talking about. But I doubt it. Time and again, NHL leadership never fails… to let you down.
Lemieux taking a stand and banishing Cooke? I doubt it. More than likely Shero will come out with a statement vaguely defending Cooke or at least deflecting blame.
I’d love to see the hysteria that was tossed the way of the Isles and Trevor Gillies.
I’d love to see that donkey columnist from Vancouver suggest that Pittsburgh should have to play the rest of the season with only 17 skaters.
Love to see Keith Jones and Mike Milbury trash Cooke as a player and the Pens organization as a disgrace and a joke to the league.
Love to see McDonagh mention that Cooke shouldn’t be in the game.
But we won’t.
I fully expect some crap justification from Colin Campbell–as always– about how it was a hockey play or how it was a hit to the side or some other reason why it’s only a couple-of-games suspension.
Prove me wrong, Colie. Mario.
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Oren says:
It’s an elbow. But realizing that an elbow is an elbow I could overlook this. It’s just that Gillies seems to get a 10 game suspension for throwing a clean hard check and they are trying to run him out of the league. So by the “Gillies standard”, Cooke should get a 35 game suspension. But he won’t. And Lemiuex will say nothing and this incident will be forgotten, until the next time Colon has a vendeta. This is ridiculous. Well put CB, your sentiment is not lost on us we feel the same exact way!
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CampbelltheFraud says:
lets see those hypocrite pens fans show up at our home finale vs them now.. see how hypocritical those losers really are… he should be done for the reason for being a 5 time offender… no excuse for less unless campbell truely is corrupt, in which case every team in the league should revolt and have his ass fired..
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shlo says:
From a Penguin point of view McDonough ran into Cooks elbow…Campbel soup will see it that way too.
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loaf says:
The game was 1-1 at the time, not 2-1. But it did cost them the game. The power play for the rangers was terrible and then Pitt went up 2-1 shorthanded, so they got the lead while cooke was in the box. But something needs to be done this guy is just looking to injure not play physical
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DANO says:
Hey Mario hows that for KARMA bitting you in the a@@, show the cworld what your made of SUPER MARIO , looks good on ya fool
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Big K says:
CB-
Thanks for having the courage to call out Super Mario. You are spot on in doing so. If Cooke does not receive a minimum of ten games, then the league is willing to flaunt the corruption in Colin Campbell’s office. If Super Mario doesn’t act first on his own, we know he has turned into nothing more than a bag of wind. Is Colin as corrupt as we believe? Is Mario really a hypocrite? We’ll find out in the next day or two. -
If Trevor Gillies gets 10 games for a borderline-legal hit that was in the heat of the moment, in response to a BLATANT cheap shot to a teammate (Clutterbuck’s hit was 10 times worse than Gillies’), and that would’ve just been a 2-minute minor for every other player in the NHL, Cooke shouldn’t get less than 30. That’s justice.
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kingbet123 says:
Mario should man up and walk the walk. Also, I know someone else mentioned it, for one week the NHL should announce open season on Matt Cooke for one week – do whatever you want to him with no penalty. Might he then stop the stupidity?
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$2,500.00 fine. oh wait, hes just off a watered down 4 game suspension for blow to the head/check from behind, $2,500.00 suspension and 1 game. gotta make a firm point.
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pete debenedetto says:
When Islander fans are calling for the player to be suspended for running a Ranger, you know it’s a dirty hit.
Cooke SHOULD NOT finish this season. The reason Crosby is on the IR is because of guys like Cooke. Too bad he’s not playing on the 9th.
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Jmo16 says:
What should also be considered is that Cooke threw the elbow during a routine play. It was not in retaliation (best of my knowledge). So he’s just throwing elbows for no reason??? That’s a part of his game????
Get him off your team Mario and I will once again have respect for you. We’ll work on getting Konopka to put your poster back up on his bedroom wall. -
Tom D in NJ says:
Cookes Wikipedia bio reads more like a criminal than a hockey player. Every guy that Cooke has put down should get free head shots on Bettmann, Campbell and Lemieux who are all gutless hypocrites.
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I was actually rooting for the Rangers today – that’s saying something. CB – your piece here is dead on – thank you. let your voice be heard round the NHL….
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Jim Clark says: Heavy suspension and fine is good. But an even better idea is to fire Bettman and hire Don Cherry. He knows the difference between tough and dirty players. Have Blue take over Colin Campbell’s job. He can read minds better than Campbell and Murphy.
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streit02 says:
What goes around, comes around. Not only does Lemieux employ Cooke, but he also wears an ‘A’ on his jersey. Its not only time for Lemieux to step up, but the league as well. If he gets anything less than the 10 games Gillies got it will be an outrage.
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since mario said after the game the isles took care of the pens that he is not sure if he can continue to be in the nhl, then after today he should step down at the end of the season and put his share of the team for sale. cooke should at the very least be suspended til the end of the season for his continued hits to the head but because the tainted former rag campbell handles the punishments, it would not surprise me if nothing is done at all. by the way it was nice to see that article in the post saying that cappy deserves to come back ( he definetely does) but may not because snow refuses to talk about it and declined repeated requests ( like usual)for the post interview.
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Al says:
Where are all the Islander and Gillies bashers now? Milkbury and Jones, can’t wait to hear what you have to say about this, including the idiot announcers for the pens.
And most of all Super Mario,looks like we’ll be hearing another ‘statement’ from you concerning head shots. I guess you’re done with ‘the game you love’.
Colon Campbell better do the right thing here or we’re gonna see a lot more feroucious friday’s.
Btw, great points CB. Is there any way the Islanders can file a formal complaint if the punishment is a joke, which it probably will be? -
Luvs19 says:
My guess is that he won’t be a Penguin much longer (as soon as Shero can get rid of him or send him down, for now). Maybe Cooke will get the hint.
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Too bad this was an NBC game. I would have loved to hear what those high-school quality announcers for the Penguins had to say to Cooke as he left the ice. Remember those announcers who called Gillies a joke, disgrace, and an animal, and told him to get in his cage as he left the ice. I would hope they had a cage ready for Cooke.
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The Haley Hammer says:
So are Orpik and Lemieux are you readyh for get off your super high horse? Come on, I got your ladder right here you fan boys…It was only a matter of time before he was going to eat his words. What a homer.
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Hey everybody don’t forget this guy wear’s an “A” which means this organization agrees with the way he plays and the crap he pulls. Mario knows this and just gave him a 3 year extension last year. If he wants to clean up the sport he should cut the guy. He will be picked up by somebody but atleast Mario would be showing that he believes in what he says. Sidney got hurt on an actual hockey play and was done accidentally. Cooke raised his elbow and purposly hit the head just like with Savard. He has no place in the game and Mario should see to it that he doesn’t.
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and what ever happened with the Heatly hit on Ott?
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Char says:
That Cooke wears an “A” on his chest tells you all you need to know about Mario and his band of hypocrites.
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Ct 1970s says:
Gillies was the sacrificial lamb for the NHL High Hatters. Bettttman, campbell and mario are all hypocrits. THey threw Giilies to the wolves and sat back and said we did our part. Cooke might get two or three games, of might just say it was a hockey play. Is Pierre Maguire trying to get a job working for the rags?
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Strummer's Army says:
CB I disagree with you. Mario sucks for hockey. Ya he put up points but he’s always been a whiner. It is his tactic. He’d drive his stick into another players head, groin, neck and then complain like crazy the refs didn’t penalize the other player enough when he’d get off free. It is exactly what he did after the Isles/Pens game. Instead of shutting his mouth after Campbell gave him the gift of not suspending his coach when the rule book said it must happen, only given Godard the minimum 10 when he deserved more, and no fine Mario complained. His entire team does the same thing, they are all victims even when they are always the dirty birds.
Mario Lemuix hurts hockey by teaching kids to be terrible sports. Sydney takes after him. Mario is also a liar!
Mario loves these dirty tactics.
I’d love to say that Cooke is going to get a minimum of 25 games. He’s far worse then Chris Simon ever was. I’d like to say the Pens are finally going to be fined by the NHL “for failure to maintain control of their players”. I don’t believe any of it will happen. I think Cooke will get 4-6 games tops. He deserves way more and we all know if he were an Isle the some media jerks would be building his cross right now but everyone feels the need to kiss Mario’s French Canadian butt for some reason.
Bettman should say this is terrible for the game, we keep saying we want to protect players heads but we never do a damn thing about it when certain teams and guys are involved and we’ve taken away the players ability to protect themselves. He should tell Mario to fly away black bird. Plenty of folks would buy the Pens. Mario is not an involved owner, he doesn’t attend the meetings. Dump his ass. Mario needs the NHL way more then the NHL needs Mario. Bettman won’t because he is either spineless or incompotent or both.
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Derek A says:
seriously
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Kaszycki's Krew says:
NBC will be upset if Cooke is gone for long – anything which weakens the Pens is not good for NBC’s business with the NHL. This is their team. 5 games – I would say 10 games is the right call – he will get a deeply discounted sentence. 5 games is my prediction.
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mht says:
How about a $ 5,000,000 fine against the pittsburgh penguin organization and a 1 year suspension without pay for Matt Cooke?
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jim says:
he wont any suspension because he is not an islander
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The Danish Backhand of Judgment says:
Whatever happens, Im sure he gets less than Gillies.
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JD says:
Pens have 10 games left. He should not be allowed to play in any of them and a nice fine to Mario as well. #45, Heatley got 2 games for that elbow.
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Sue says:
aaahhh, karma!
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Kbelanger33 says:
Whatever. After the isles have been shafted time after time by the NHL/refs, i have grown numb to this crap.
-All I know is if Gillies did this he’d be facing life in prison. -
stevek1510 says:
i just hope super mario comes down off his high horse so the rest of us can hear him announce he is leaving hockey
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Orange&Blue says:
This will be Cooke’s 6th suspension and that doesnt count the unpenalized hit on Mark Savard. Gillies got 9 and 10 games this year without having a prior infraction. This headhunter better get 10 games. He has no regard for anyone. He is a menace.
Where is Super Mario the hypocrit? Does he want to quit now?
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Eric S says:
Nothing will come of this. It’s not even being covered anywhere else. The guy he hit got back up so no harm no foul in Colon Campbells tiny mind.
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Just saw that…Thanks JD! GO ISLES!!!!
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isles71 says:
Lemieux makes him team captain for his dedication to “old tyme hockey”…in my day Cooke would never have made it off the ice. Let us see if Mr Lemieux is a hypocrite or not.
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gino says:
open season on cooke? make it open season on crosby and then you’ll see mario in action.
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Islebethere4u says:
Mario’s statement will probably be something like this: “I don’t know what all the fuss is about. Apparently you, the press and the NHL don’t know Matt Cooke the way I do. He’s the sweetest most stand up guy there is. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. He’s certainly not anything like those thugs from Long Island. I haven’t seen the tape but I’m sure it was just a hockey play. I think you guys should just leave him alone and let him play hockey.”
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TurgeonFan77132 says:
Lemieux will probably find some sad excuse to defend what Cooke did, knowing how his whining about the Gillies hit on Tangradi was heard. Lemieux is not saint himself, having been a complainer for “superstar calls” during his heyday. Why doesn’t he ask Darius Kasparaitis about how it feels to get knocked on his behind?
Can’t wait for the home finale against the Pens. I know the NHL is going to put sanctions on both teams beforehand, but I hope the energy is still there.
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PSM1966 says:
I think Gillies will get another 9 for this…
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Hockeypuck11 says:
Why isn’t Cooke’s hit the top of the news on NHL.com??? How F-ed up is that?!!!
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Brian G says:
Cooke should get 15 games…this guy has more of a history than Gillies, and he got 10 games…no one should blink an eye, this better be handed out first thing tomorrow morning, no taking time with this, its pretty straight forward.
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Cooke will get 3 games and Gillies will get another 10 for good measure.
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Honnold says:
Yeah, let’s go hypocrite.
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Frustrated Voter says:
What delicious irony. I can’t wait to hear what Mario has to say. I can’t wait to see what type of “discipline” the NHL and Colin Campbell dispense. I hope the national media exposes Mario and the NHL for the frauds that they are when they give Matt Cooke a one game suspension.
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geduffer says:
Obviously Cooke wears an A because “sshole” won’t fit in that little space on the jersey. Still waiting to hear from hypocrisy central’ ska Pittsburgh.
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Jack says:
Looked thru some Canadian Sports sites this morning and not a word about Cooke or Mario. Why does this not suprise me???
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moonshine says:
i really don’t expect lemieux to speak up this time. somehow i think he’ll go back to being the quiet man we all knew before. no chance he’ll be proactive. he’ll leave it in the hands of the league and at most make some soft ‘we accept the ruling’ statement (for which undoubtedly he’ll be praised).
no team does as much agitating as the penguins. no team does more cheap stuff after the ref’s whistle. they lead the nhl in major penalties. the odd thing is that it hasn’t been addressed before. heck, even their tv announcers sound like goons…
and while i’m on announcers, doc emrick went through the roof for joy when pittsburgh took the lead, but when the rags came back it stuck in his throat. on devil games he’s as obnoxious a whiner as you’ll find on any nhl telecast. howie may ramble too much, but he’s got more class in his little finger than all of emrick.
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as for the penalty to cooke…
let’s remember the ‘intent to injure’ tag that’s been hung on the islanders. let’s see if campbell is as willing to play that card with cooke’s hit. or if cooke is on his ‘good guy’ list.
i’m appalled by the judgments about individual players (see the savard e-mails) that seem to affect disciplinary rulings in the nhl.
cooke is looking at his fifth suspension.
no room for leniency that i can see… -
Jethro09 says:
You won’t hear much from Pens fans on this, or their owner for that matter. Pens fans and Lemieux are all the same: They’re all talk when its Pens’ players getting abused by cheap shots and dirty play. But, when its a Pens’ player (Cooke) dishing out the dirty hits and cheap shots, they remain silent. They’re all hypocrites and Lemieux is the biggest one of all, since he actually re-signed that loser Cooke and continues to pay him to take runs at guys and potentially end careers (see Mark Savard).
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Bob E says:
Cooke is the dirtiest player in hockey, they was established very long time ago. would be too funny if campbell messes this up too.
Lemieux wont say anything. He is bias. If he backs his statement he should get rid of Cooke from pens. He wont.
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Hoser14 says:
Colon Campbell will give Matt Cooke a game or two because his hit was against the wrong New York team…..
How about Maxine Talbot going Banzai! on Ranger$ goalie King Henrik?
Another black eye on hockey by Mario’s Pittsburgh Punks!
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PSM1966
You got it…. that’s how you run the NHL
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The New Isles GM says:
Now that they made an example out of Gillies, 2x, The NHL can hold up to their word and do the same for Cooke. This guy should sit the rest of the season and the playoffs. He’s a repeat offender on multiple levels and this situation shouldn’t be taken lightly even though McDonough is ok. Let’s see if the GM’s accomplished more then getting a tan this past week in Florida.
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Mike says:
Agreed that the suspension should be greater than Gillies..but it won’t be. About Mario suspending Cooke…it all depends. Did Mario sit down with him after the brawl and say clean up your act? My guess is not. If you were hired to play a certain way and your employer doesn’t ask you to change that style, they can’t punish you for being who you are. With that said, mario should but won’y because he probably never had the “talk” with Cooke.
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John says:
In regards to the Pens, Cooke, Mario and the rest of the league… its more of the Do as we say not as we do mentality. If this is anything less than 10 games… and in the case of Cooke, 10 games is lenient considering his history, than the NHL is not serious about cleaning up the cheapshots, especially ones targeting the head. McDonough was lucky not to have gotten a concussion… of course who knows how he’ll feel in a few days.
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BanGarth says:
This needs to be on Fanhouse CB !
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gary91922 says:
The problem is not Cooke, Mario, Gillies, or anyone else.
The problem is the wimpification of sports and the country in general.
The people aspect of the game is gone for the sake of letting beurocracy regulate and control the game.
You know why players like Cooke, Avery, Gillies and sticks were down and head shots were not a daily occurence??? Because; back in the day players policed themselves to. Respect for other players were controlled by the vets of each team and enforcers. Take a cheap shot at my players and not only would that team provide pay back, but other teams would do what was neccesary to make sure that player was as controlled as possible.
The only hole in the old system was that players that were consistantly “out of control” were not punished by the league consistanly and fairly.
Put the people aspect back in the game. Get rid of instant replay and let humans make calls. Yes they will get some wrong, but that’s life. Let players police themselves. Let the league step in when neccesry. The current model is not fair and is an epic fail!!!
The reason Cooke does what he does is because he knows there is relatively no punishment for his actions. I bet you he would think twice if he knew his butt was gonna get beat four or five games in a row.
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MoreDraftPicks says:
Goon!! Cheap shot POS
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Stumpy32 says:
Everyone needs to calm down. What Mario says or doesn’t say doesn’t matter one bit. It really all comes down to the suspension handed out by the incompetent boobery of Colin and his minions.
If Cooke gets anything less than the 10 games Gillies got (being a recidivist and and all), then the Isles should immediately petition the league about biased treatment in favor of the league’s favorite son and his franchise.
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Kevin says:
33-Huh? A cheap shot is not the reason Crosby is out. He and Steckel collided accidentally and then Hedman put a gentle hit on him.
Cooke has an in-person interview today and should get at least 8-10 games imo.
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dedshark says:
I think he should be suspended for the remainder of the season plus the playoffs. BUT he must be forced to play against the islanders =)
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Chris18 says:
CB- I disagree with 1 part: Mario should walk if he doesn’t take action. He has the opportunity to show he wasn’t full of it with his post-Ferocious Friday comments. If he doesn’t- he should walk the walk that he talked.
Mario was a great player. But let’s take a trip down memory lane. HE whined and complained about clutching & grabbing. HE said the lesser players are keeping the skilled guys (like him) from doing their jobs, which is what he said fans wanted to see. HE is largely responsible for the rules that ushered in the “New NHL”. Faster, less interference/clutching/grabbing. What does all that equal? More speed, which equals harder hits, which equal more concussions. His whining about his back helped to bring all this in.
He also said fighting wasn’t what fans wanted to see. Did that help bring in the instigator rule? Which has almost neutered the enforcers who used to police dirt bags like Cooke? Seems it to me! Mario is a large part of the cause of events like Ferocious Friday and Bruins/Habs (brawl game earlier in year- not Chara on Pacioratty).
He has done no more for the NHL than any other owner. It wouldn’t bother me in the slightest if he walked, as he threatened. I might actually gain an ounce of respect for the big whiner if he did.
I’d be shocked if the league gave repeat offender Cooke more than 8 games. Mario has the chance to do more, or walk. But he won’t do either.How about the job Snow has done? Grabner & Moulson picked up off the NHL’s scrap heap. 30 goals each, 2 years in a row for Matty-Mo’. And I liked DP’s new Chris Osgood-like helmet. Seems safer for him. Now he just needs some titanium knee braces!
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Jim says:
If there is no Cooke suspension then we will know once and for all the Campbell is biased against the Islanders.
One thing in favor of a suspension is that this happened against the Rangers, Campbell’s old team and source of his Islander hatred.
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LuvMyIsles says:
If Cooke is not suspended AT LEAST the same amount of games as Gillies then you know the League is full of it and totally loses all credibility.
As for players policing themselves, that is not the answer. We live in a different world and the boundaries as to what is and is not acceptable have blurred if not disappeared completely. Today’s players are bigger and faster and can inflict real damage and with hockey being such an emotional sport, that can be a dangerous combination. What they need to do is establish clear guidelines and ENFORCE THEM FAIRLY. Forget about trying to establish “intent”; they can’t possibly know what the player is thinking. Just enforce the rules, even the playing field and the players will get the message; if they don’t then show them the door.
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Danny says:
I agree that this hit was way worse than Gilles’ second offense, but c’mon Isles fans. You’re all making us sound like Ranger fans. I’ve been a fan for 24 years and never once have I felt that the league rules against us.
Gilles is an idiot for trying to send a statement to Clutterbuck in his second shift back from a 9 game suspension. Cooke will get suspended, and if it’s for less then 10 games, who cares? It doesn’t affect the Isles at all.
All that being said, I really like the way the team has been playing lately and if we can add a solid #1 goalie this off season, we have ourselves a playoff team. Let’s Go Islanders!
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Irish Isle says:
Hope Cooke gets to visit Toronto, and that the press will be waiting for him.
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A Real hockey fan says:
.. Ive watched NHL hockey for 25+ years and the dopey insigator penalty is a *BIG PART* of the problem with cheapshot artists like Matt Cooke running around, the guy is not held accountable for his actions.
.. If this was 1985 or so he would have had his azz handed to him/kicked a loooong time ago, but because of the mentality of todays game and not wanting to ‘get the insigator penalty’ we see these cheapshots all the time and its a joke
.. The league cannot (repeat CANNOT!!!) police the game from the front office, u have to let the players police the game a lil bit. Im not saying bench clearing brawls, chepshots, 24/7 brawling but u do need the occasional cheapshot pl.ayer (Avery Cooke others) to be held accountable
.. Mario Lemuiex was a GREAT player (superstar) but hes now one of 30 owners, NO BETTER AND NO WORSE! He whined about the cluthing/grabbing as a player (what do u expect mario? nobody 2 ‘touch you so u can get 4-5 points a night? GEEEZ)
.. Cooke deserves a suspension and Mario needs to shut his trap or sell the team! END OF STORY!
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Rich Levow says:
Memo to Mario – People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Gillies is taller than Cooke by a fair amount and therefore tends to hit higher. Cooke went out of his way for that cheap shot. If the League doesn’t hit him with a 10 game, they will lose the respect of both the fans and the players.
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Don Cherry says:
gary91922 said it best. There is no worry for a guy like Cooke. In the old days he would’ve been pounded for his actions way before he was lead off the ice by the officials. In todays game the guy doing the enforcing is penalized as much or more than the goon who deserves the beating. Just a lousy way to run the league. The league by trying to make things better has actually made it worse.
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JTizzle says:
That guy is just a “Gutless Puke”! End of story! If Mario does nothing about this after all that game he was talking he is even a bigger “Gutless Puke”.
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#66 Psm1966-i agree. We all know not enough will be done to punish Cooke. All this idiot did was put the spot-light on the whipping boys-The islanders. The thugs, look out next time they are involved in an incident-Colon and Bettman will make us pay for an unpunished Cooke headshot-it’s so true. Media has made us the monster.
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Chris says:
Mario is a typical phony. It was easy to make a stand after the Isles game. Cooke is dirty & will probably get at least 5 games (I think he has been suspended 3 times & probably should have been 5 or 6 by now)The NHL & Mario know that people are watching (players, Coaches etc.)so they will be tougher on Cooke, but NHL is still a joke when it comes to this issue. Maybe now that Mario is leaving Hockey he can buy the Pirates
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Winning says:
The nhl loves these dirty players. Only players they suspend long term are guys who cant play hockey at all like gillies. Cook will sit 4 msybe 6 games, hurting playets is accepted, part of nhl otherwise they would suspend guy for 40 games if they didnt like it.
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ditty says:
Cooke should be sent to anger management like they did with Chris Simon. Same dirt bag players should get the same treatment, but nooooo he’s on the pens
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He will get 8 games, because the 9th game is the Islanders rematch…wouldn’t want the poor Penguins to face us without him
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Thomas32 says:
At this time we would like to ask Mr.Lemieux to comment on the Matt Cooke ELBOW penalty.
Lemieux: chirp , chirp ,
Mr. Lemieux??
Any comment on how Matt Cooke basically ENDED Marc Savard’s career in the NHL and continues to play dirty by throwing cheap blindsided elbows to unexpecting players?
Lemieux: Chirp , Chirp
Mr, Lemieux??
Mr. Lemieux , would you care to let us know who’s career that Trevor Gillies ever ended by a cheap shot ,blindsided elbow to the head ??
NO ONE!! But he will get the steapeast penalty for a shoulder to shoulder hit , BECAUSE he is Trevor Gillies!! Right??
WAKE the F@*k up Colin , this is the guy you need to get out of the NHL!!!! Im sure , most players on ANY team including his own will agree!
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CJCB says:
Wouldnt miss ya Lemieux and if you leave take Cambell and this garbage “new” NHL with ya.
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KM says:
When Mario fails to get out of hockey as he promised, he becomes the Alec Baldwin of hockey (remember when Alec said he’d move to Canada if George W. Bush won the presidency?) The track record of Matt Cooke is so clear, if he steps on the ice before the start of next season, the NHL should be embarrassed and ashamed. It would be a very strong statement for the league to say some variation of “Cooke is suspended indefinitely, but at a minimum for the remainder of this season, including the playoffs.” I’ll be very pleasantly surprised if they do that. And the cricket chirping coming from Mario LeMew’s office…….it’s deafening. he is the quintessential whining “gutless puke”.
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It should be an interesting Versus discussion tonight. Craig Button on the NHL Network tempered his disgust with just a right amount indifference, only referred to Islanders/Penguins once, but at least he didn’t bring up Gillies by name.
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50 in 50 says:
Well now that I bought Z’s old Mario Lemieux poster from Ebay I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. I was so happy to hear the way Doc Emeric and the other guys called the shot. Maybe now Mario will shut his mouth and take the heat off guys like Gillies… The hearing is set for today, this is my prediction:
Colon: Okay Matt I have seen the tape and Im very disappointed
Matt: Im sorry Mr Cambell but he turned and forced me to put my elbows up to stop me from hitting the glass with my face.
Colon: The fans are very vocal Cookie. As you know I worked for the Rags so you put me in a tough spot.
Mario: Colon if he gets more then 4 games Im leaving and taking the team with me.
Colon: but Mario he tried to seperate McDonaghs’ head from his body. He said it was an accident but come on…
This decision is final Mario…
I have no choice but to fine the Rags 100K and to suspend Ryan McDonagh for almost causing a head shot on Cookie by his apparent disregard for head shots and turning away.Matt: Thank you Colon
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to Jack @ 73, that is incorrect…all of the Great White North is clammoring for his head. TSN.ca, had it posted how Cooke marred the game with the Rags at about 6pm and the posts, all 30 pages of them, called for suspension or lifetime ban(well 99% did). Don’t make this us against them, they think Lemieux every bit a hypocrite as we do!
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The Pork Chop Express says:
The league needs to toss him the book. Otherwise all these meetings/investgations are joke. This player’s primary objective is to hurt an opposing player. It is a matter of time before he ruins the career of another player.
The team should be fined for not controlling him too. However I feel they will only give 6-8 games because he just received 4 games on his previous violation. I hope he is tossed for the rest of the year/playoffs. I think the all of players will agree with that one too.
PS. First Offense should be 10 game minumum.
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turgeon77 says:
Maybe it’s time Mario leaves the game. hypocrite
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KO21 says:
A little less talk and allot more action, Mario Ladouch…
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Tony says:
I bet the hearing will go something like this:
“Mr. Cooke, we watched the videotape and saw how McDonough’s face hit your elbow. I’ve decided to give him a 5 game suspension.”
“Thank you Mr. Campbell. Gotta get back to the arena.”
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Spittin'chicklets says:
Excellent work CB.. Well played sir, well played indeed.
It needs sayin’ and you said it. Now lets see what Mr Lemieux does or has to say now if at all. The latter would be a cryin’ shame for a man of his stature in the NHL.
Step up to the mic, no need to eat any crow, but he needs to show no double standards simply because the man wears a Pens jersey. Lets see what Mario is made of this time.. -
kjs says:
“gary91922 on Mar 21st, 2011 10:14:28 said:
The problem is not Cooke, Mario, Gillies, or anyone else.The problem is the wimpification of sports and the country in general.
The people aspect of the game is gone for the sake of letting beurocracy regulate and control the game.
You know why players like Cooke, Avery, Gillies and sticks were down and head shots were not a daily occurence??? Because; back in the day players policed themselves to. Respect for other players were controlled by the vets of each team and enforcers. Take a cheap shot at my players and not only would that team provide pay back, but other teams would do what was neccesary to make sure that player was as controlled as possible.
The only hole in the old system was that players that were consistantly “out of control” were not punished by the league consistanly and fairly.
Put the people aspect back in the game. Get rid of instant replay and let humans make calls. Yes they will get some wrong, but that’s life. Let players police themselves. Let the league step in when neccesry. The current model is not fair and is an epic fail!!!
The reason Cooke does what he does is because he knows there is relatively no punishment for his actions. I bet you he would think twice if he knew his butt was gonna get beat four or five games in a row.”
Gary—
Maybe we can throw Cooke in a body of water. If he floats, he’s a witch and we should kill him. If he drowns, he was a witch and a deity of your choice killed him.
I too miss the days of lynchings, shooting the guy who cheated at poker, and white hats vs. black hats.
Twenty-first century rationalism is just so complicated, ain’t it?
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Just do what Ken Daneyko suggested….he will stop
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brett says:
Cooke is not worth it !!! this is the last straw , if I was Lemieux, cooke would be gone 4 sure. He continues to take cheap shots & stupid penalities that hurt the team. I know he’s not a bad player skill wise & kills penaltys, but its not worth it. He should sit the rest of the year and then moved ! if not every one will think that Lemieux’s the biggest hypocrite in the NHL
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JT27 says:
THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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rick says:
10 games plus first round of playoffs= 14-17 games. ok, but should have been full playoffs.
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verdict is in…10 games rest of season including 1st round of playoffs..honestly thought it should’ve included the entire playoffs..Cooke shouldn’t play at all this year..
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well, rest of regular season + first round isn’t a light suspension.
i didn’t hear anything about team’s responsibility yet, which ought to be included according to the gm meetings.
fact remains that the penguins are the ‘dirtiest’ team in the nhl, and it’s actually possible to make that statement without even saying anything controversial. all the more reason to apply the notion of team responsibility.lemieux MUST speak clearly now, or forever lose credibility and respect. he’s the one that has cooke participate in hockey games.
the penguins are so obnoxious that they even suceeded in the unlikely feat of riling up the islanders, a team that hadn’t bothered anybody in donkey years.
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He was just suspended for the rest of the regular season (10 games) and the first round of the playoffs. So its anywhere from 14 to 17 games, not bad. Wonder what Mario has to say about this.
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BIG DEAL. Even without this chooch they were going to make the playoffs, so the suspension really only counts for that 1 round of playoffs.
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You will not hear from 66, his foot is too far down his throat and the other up Cooke’s ass for make Mario look foolish. Want to bet Cooke still wears the “A” when he returns. We all know it means something different for him right ass…
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Faye from Brooklyn says:
Lemieux and WHAT credibility?
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MicketBoy7 says:
Of course he got a big punishment. He hurt a New York Ranger. This is unforgivable to the always unbiased Colin Campbell.
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Dan- Wilton CT says:
I feel the NHL finally did get it right. He gets 14-17 games with those last 4-7 being important because it is the playoffs. Like everyone else i expected to be disappointed with the ruling but I am actually pleased. I feel the punishment fit the crime and for once the NHL looked at the intent and not the outcome
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Jerky says:
This sends a clear message that the NHL is not going to tolerate this type of behavior any longer. Glad to see appropriate punishment dished out and hopefully Campbell keeps it consistent with the next player who does something similar, no matter the team or the caliber of the guilty player.
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IslesfanfromFlorida says:
FItting penalty for a former Rags Gm to a present Rags player. If it was a Isle or prob anyone else that was the victim, it would have been 5-8 the most, just because h was a repeat offender. The fact that Chara wasnt punished for his hit, 1-2 would have been sufficient, still shows the league has no CLUE what they are trying to clean up. Til the next player gets hurt, COLON gets a positive remark for making the Pens pay, hopefully they get bounced from the playoffs in round 1 cause of it. GO ISLANDERS!!
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i have a question about the ‘team responsibility’ which was announced at the gm meetings.
pittsburgh leads the league in major penalties.
this wasn’t an incident without context.
they have a systematic approach that involves a lot of on ice infractions.
what better case would there be to apply the notion of ‘team responsibility?’
but that would have hit straight at lemieux and thrown him into another tiffy. -
Mario as a player was great. Once he took off his skates he should have shoved them down his throat. Honestly, the stupidity and hypocritical jargon that comes out of this man is unreal! Make like a tree and leave already, Mario, you deserve all the critisism the media gives you. Go now while you are still somewhat respected from your playing days!
I guess Mario is done and the Pens are up for sale. Maybe Trevor Gillies will buy a portion?