Cooke hits Savard

[Carman 387]

So, would you say it would be possible for a person to be an Avs fan as well as a Wings fan...........or a Hawks fan as well as a Wings fan?

It would be a lot harder considering the competition between the two teams will take place all through the regular season and early in the playoffs.

But I'm not going to say it isn't possible.

It's just a sport.

[esteef 2,679]

How will Cindy get another Cup if we just start suspending every teammate of his that plays dirty? Next, you will want the officials to start calling Cindy for diving. What's wrong with you? You must be a noob at hockey.

esteef

[edicius 3,269]

Cooke is a POS. Hes always going out of his way to make knee on knee or head shots on players.

Yep. And because he's on the Pens, the league disciplinary committee turns a blind eye. He's been suspended once this season when he should have been out at least three times already. I'm sure Shean Donovan thinks the same thing.

[Yzerfan1999 81]

Head shot. Should be illegal because its a disgusting play, but the NHL thinks its not a problem.

Cooke has a rep for this s*** too. Unfortunate, but what does the league expect when they refuse to address the problem. Yuck.

[Finnish Wing 110]

It would be a lot harder considering the competition between the two teams will take place all through the regular season and early in the playoffs.

But I'm not going to say it isn't possible.

It's just a sport.

Or is it?!

[skyphoenix 153]

I don't see an elbow but the only part of Savard that gets hit is his head. It was a clear-cut headshot and he deserves a suspension for that.

[Echolalia 2,961]

Legal or not, that was a dirty hit. Players need to show more respect for each other, and the nhl needs to amend its rulebook for headhunting. This s*** is happening way too often.

Edited March 8, 2010 by Echolalia

[Guest Four]

Cooke has already been suspended this year and should have been twice. This is another example of where he should be suspended. He has a record of injuring players and he should be handled accordingly.

[cjm502 165]

I hope something smacks Cooke back in to reality, scares the s*** out of him, and causes him to play like a little marshmallow. Much like what has happened to Bert.

[Guest Shoreline]

Someone send him this..

[ben_usmc 253]

How will Cindy get another Cup if we just start suspending every teammate of his that plays dirty? Next, you will want the officials to start calling Cindy for diving. What's wrong with you? You must be a noob at hockey.

Or Malkin for swinging a stick at a players head, or Malkin for taking his gloves off and starting a fight with less then 5 minutes, or Malkin for being a big ******* ****

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

No respect in the NHL anymore. And it's because of guys like Cooke and Lapierre, gutless.

[Original-Six 254]

Someone send him this..

lol beat me to it.

look at his face bounce off the ice.....poetic justice.

Edited March 8, 2010 by Original-Six

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Cooke is a douchenozzle. Suspend.

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

From Toronto Star:

Same dynamic, different issue.

Once again, NHL general managers have assembled at a Floridian beach resort to wrangle over a difficult and sometimes dangerous problem in the sport.

...

...

"At some point there's got to be a clear indication from the league because we've seen this so many times now," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said afterward.

That indication might come this week, although the 30 hockey executives could again come up with one or more proposals and then have them dismissed by the players again.

...

...

During the recent Vancouver Olympics, Russia's Alex Ovechkin delivered a crushing, mid-ice bodycheck to Czech star Jaromir Jagr, a hit that appeared legal but saw much of the force of the hit delivered to Jagr's head. The hit cracked Jagr's visor, and while IIHF officials were eager to review the play and possibly suspend Ovechkin, NHL officials forcefully argued against any supplemental discipline and the matter was dropped.

...

We will see.

[StevieY9802 6]

I don't see the elbow out but it sure was a shot to the head. Cooke has been suspended twice this season already so he's obviously not learning.

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

No elbow, got the head a bit but Savard was leaning forward. Not as bad as everyone here is making it seem but he'll probably get a couple games for it.

Not bad? Tell that to Savard who received a concussion as a result.

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

It was not an elbow but it was a head shot.

This hit is taking center stage at the GM meetings. I'd be surprised if some sort of rule change isn't announced that penalizes hits to the head. Too many players are getting injured as a result of head shots and there is no reason to be head hunting like this. Some players need to develop a little more respect. Just because hits like this are legal doesn't mean they should be.

Matt Cooke's hit on Boston's Marc Savard on Sunday will serve as Exhibit A as NHL general managers gather this week in Boca Raton, Florida for meetings.

Cooke's hit, a shoulder to the head and made partially from behind, left the Bruins forward concussed and unable to travel with his team.

Savard was blindsided and according to many of the game's decision makers, was vulnerable. That's exactly what the managers are hoping to clamp down on, a hit to the head on an unsuspecting player.

There was no penalty on the play.

Monday's meetings consist of a variety of presentations relating to the issue of head checking, concussions and the NHL's ongoing concussion management program.

The NHL has invited a medical team that specializes in concussions to speak and there will also be extensive video presentations isolating both legal and illegal contact with the head.

Monday's meetings will primarily focus on the data and research the NHL has done, but the majority of the three days of meetings will be spent discussing whether or not it's time the league does something to address head checking as many general managers consider this to be a significant safety concern.

It is possible, if not likely, this group will emerge from Wednesday's final discussions with recommendations on an additional penalty or a tweak to an existing rule to include the 'shoulder to the head' hit as an illegal play.

Currently, shoulder contact with the head is legal.

Any suggested rule changes or amendments to the rule book would have to pass through the NHL/NHLPA's joint competition committee and would require Board approval before being implemented. However, it is the expectation of some GM's that such rule adjustments will be in place for the 2010-2011 regular season.

TSN

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

The NHL would suspend Ovechkin AGAIN before suspending Cooke.

[edicius 3,269]

The NHL would suspend Ovechkin AGAIN before suspending Cooke.

THIS.

The NHL had no problem suspending Ovechkin. For some reason though, Cooke seems to get a free pass from the league to injure whomever he likes.

[HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878]

Clean hit, I think...

[Wombat 26]

The NHL needs to adopt the IIHF rules. Any hit to the head is a penalty.

[Theophany 110]

It was a borderline dirty hit. No elbow (do you guys need your eyes checked? His elbow is tucked the whole way through the hit) and his aim was a bit off.

Hits to the head—intentional or unintentional—need stiffer penalties. That's a fact.

I just don't think that this was a blatant dirty hit. If it was, there are some Kronwall hits you guys need to look at and reevaluate.

[mjlegend 155]

Blindside hit to the head, close enough to an elbow for my liking. Five games. In my NHL, if Cooke does it again, 25 games. A third time and it's a life suspension.

I'm all for clean hits to the chest and torso but hits to the head like this have ended guys' careers. I can think of no greater message to send than to really go hard on Cooke for this hit (given the GM's meetings are going on right now), but I suspect he'll get a swat on the wrist from Campbell.

BTW if everyone kept their heads on a swivel like Kypreos and Messier want, there wouldn't be any shots on goal and it would be a game akin to roller derby, where people just line up and run into each other. With worse television ratings.

[Donaldjr2448 43]

I think Cooke knew exactly what he was going to do and you can tell that he lined Savard up! Cooke has been known to do things like this and you could even call him a repeat offender. That fact alone deserves as suspension, however, the hit is not a suspendable offense which is terrible by the NHL standards. It is apparent that these guys like Cooke do not have respect for each other out there. Savard already shot the puck and was no longer a factor in the play, so my question is why even hit him???? I simply do not understand this and I think this is why players now get all pissed off when there is a clean hit because of the lack of respect.