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Wild Forward Matt Cooke will get Destroyed in the Court of Public Opinion

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Right on cue, the Colorado media was all over Matt Cooke. I know others will roll their eyes when they read this. The Av's are an organization that has employed some very objectionable hockey players in the past.

By Eric B
/ new
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

At the 2:02 mark of the second period, Wild forward Matt Cooke was assessed a two-minute minor penalty for kneeing Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie. As a result of this questionable, dirty hit, Barrie will miss 4-6 weeks with a MCL injury. That's a huge loss for the Av's, Barrie was one of their best "defensive" defenseman. Let's not sugar coat this, it was a dirty hit.

If you don't believe me, check out this video. As my old football coach used to say, the video doesn't lie. Cooke will be suspended by the NHL's Department of Player Safety, that's unavoidable given the ammo he gave them with this hit. The fact that Barrie was hurt on the play will help make Stéphane Quintal's job a lot easier. Also, everyone is going to be watching Quintal to see how he responds to this incident.

As we all know, Cooke has a history. It's pretty well documented.

2011/04/27 Missed the last 10 games of the regular season and 7 playoff games (suspension). (17)

2011/03/21 Suspended by the NHL for the remainder of the season and the first round of the playoffs.

2011/02/20 Missed 4 games (suspension). (4)

2011/02/09 Suspended by the NHL for four games.

2009/12/04 Missed 2 games (suspension). (2)

2009/11/29 Suspended by the NHL for two games.

2009/01/31 Missed 2 games (suspension). (2)

2009/01/27 Suspended by the NHL for 2 games.

2004/02/21 Suspended by the NHL for 2 games. (2) [TSN.CA]

Right on cue, the Colorado media was all over Matt Cooke. I know others will roll their eyes when they read this. The Av's are an organization that has employed some very objectionable hockey players in the past.

Here’s the deal, it doesn’t matter that Cooke has cleaned up his act. It doesn’t matter that he hasn’t been suspended since the 2011 season. If my math is correct, it’s been three years since Cooke was last suspended. The only thing that matters is Matt Cooke injured a player with a questionable hit. Is that fair? I don't know. Cooke earned his reputation, but let's not forget, he's been a great team player this season. He's played the game the right way this season. This is his first screw up and he’s going to pay for it, tenfold.

There's an old saying, a thousand attaboys can be cancelled out with one oh shoot.

We had a feeling this day would come. It was just a matter of time. I feel for him because he's made a conscious effort to improve, and clean up his game. It doesn't surprise me when I see Adrian Dater make comments like this.

This is not going to end well for Matt Cooke, he has an in-person hearing with the Department of Player Safety. Usually, that means the suspension is going to be over five games. So, Cooke is probably looking at a 5-10 game suspension. Right or wrong, Cooke is also going to pay for this latest transgression in the court of public opinion. It doesn’t matter that he’s cleaned up his act.

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