In Defence of Matt Cooke

After Matt Cooke took Marc Savard out for the remainder of the season with a questionable hit the other night, there was a lot of talk amongst fans and the media as to how many games he would be suspended...

It seems like nobody is on this guy's side except for Colin Campbell...

Heck, his own teammate Bill Guerin spoke out against what he did, so he could probably use a friend...

But I'm here to even out those odds, even if it is just by a minuscule fraction...

Wait, no I'm not...

I hate that guy...

Let me back up a little...

When Matt Cooke played for the Canucks, as my brother and I were watching the games I'd often comment on how dirty this guy was, and how he always seems to be going for the player and not the puck, and usually in ways that weren't exactly above board...

I mean, I love a grinder as much as the next guy, but this guy wasn't just going hard into the corners for the puck, he was leading with his elbows...

And he wasn't just trying to poke at the puck when somebody was skating towards him, he was also sticking out his knees...

People talk about how cheap players like Sean Avery and Jarko Ruutu are, but at least their intentions are blatantly obvious and it usually revolves around pissing off the other team's guys enough to draw a penalty...

The whole time I've watched games when Matt Cooke was on the ice, all I've seen is him trying to intentionally take players out of the game...

This isn't the first time he's dropped his shoulder to hit an opposing player in the head, and it sure as hell won't be the last. Especially since he didn't even get a slap on the wrist for taking a star player out of the game for the rest of the season...

Colin Campbell said that a precedent had been set when Mike Richards wasn't penalized for a similar hit earlier in the season, but there is a big difference between Richards and Cooke. Mike Richards may play with a little bit of an edge, but its not like he's a fourth line player on the ice just to shut the other team's offence down one way or the other...

I know that there are always guys you say that you hate to play against, but would love to have on your team. Corey Perry and Jarko Ruutu are two names that come to mind when I think of that kind of statement. They play with an edge and can get under the skin of the other teams...

But nobody should ever be saying that about Matt Cooke, and it looks like even Bill Guerin believes this. I've been watching Matt Cooke for a long time and I've never seen anything that could be called a redeeming quality in this guy's game. Even his goals are cheap...

I just can't believe the East coast bias is so bad in sports that it took him moving to Washington and Pittsburgh before the rest of the NHL's fans finally realized how much of a stain this guy leaves behind...

Make sure you find a place to watch the Penguins - Bruins game next Thursday, if Cooke is man enough to step up for what he did...

Is that the best you could come up with?

It seems that the cool thing to do leading into the game tonight is to criticize Team Canada about how they needed the shoot-out to beat the Swiss and then fell apart against the Americans, with Martin Brodeur taking the brunt of that...

I'm not exactly going to deviate from that, but I'm not going to stick everything on Brodeur's shoulders either...

As a goaltender myself, I know there are some times when you feel it might help out your team by taking a little chance and it ends up biting you in the ass. I have no idea how many times I've tried to do a fancy little move only to have the puck end up in my own net, but one season my team was actually counting on it happening about once a game (I'm not horrible, I make some fantastic saves, but sometimes I would try things that bordered on complete lunacy if we were up by a bunch)...

So I'm going to give Brodeur a bit of a break on this one...

Although I still wouldn't start him tonight or against the Russians tomorrow night...

Actually, I'd probably play Luongo for the first tonight and then stick Marty in when we have a nice little lead...

Or maybe a nice big lead...

No, my biggest problem is with Stevie Y's insistence on grabbing certain guys just because they play (or played) on the same team as certain other guys...

And Scotty and Chris aren't the only pair I'm talking about here...

Actually, I'm going to list the connections (only by position, as in I'm not listing Richards and Pronger together, or Fleury and Crosby) and give them a grade and a blurb explaining it...

Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger (Anaheim and formerly with Anaheim) ~ D+
- These guys played together for years and I'm not sure if that was a part of the reason that Stevie Y and his management team decided to put them both on the roster, but it really shouldn't have been. As I mentioned last post, Scotty looks like he's lost a bit and I really don't think he can play at this level any more (NHL for sure, Olympics, not so much). I don't think I really have to say much about Pronger at all. Sure he's big and plays with an edge, but he might be the only other guy on the ice that's as slow as Joe Thornton...

Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook (Chicago) ~ B+
- I was originally against this one, as it was widely reported that one of the biggest things going for Seabrook was that he played with Keith. But Seabrook has been one of the only good surprises on this Canadian team. It would have been an A, but they aren't even being paired with one another in the tournament, so the whole reason they got put on the team together goes right out the window...

Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry (Anaheim) ~ B-
- The Corey Perry selection was also one that I was originally a little confused by, but again, there was the connection with a linemate to push him over the edge. And speaking of edge, that's exactly why I'm not too uncomfortable with this pairing selection. Perry has always been an aggressive forechecker, which is one of the reasons I've always kind of hated the guy when he wasn't playing for my team. I just wish the team management had more defined roles for all the players heading into the games, as I think putting these two on a checking line with Bergeron or Richards might be fairly effective. And could really piss off the other team...

Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau, and Joe Thornton (San Jose) ~ C
- I know what some of you may be thinking right now, and yes, they have scored a solid chunk of our goals. In the first period. Which is where my biggest problem comes in, and its not really entirely their fault, but they really should not have been getting the lion's share of the ice time late in the game against Switzerland, nor should they when the games are close. When I look at that line, all I see is choker - choker - choker. Just think of every playoff series you've seen these guys play. Or not play, when you think about it, as they tend to disappear. You'd think that Mike Babcock would know this, although, in all fairness, his Red Wings didn't get a chance to put them out last year, as Anaheim did that as an 8 seed (and yes, I know that Heatley didn't play for San Jose last year, but he has a reputation for stinking it up when it counts too)...

Oh yeah, and Joe Thornton is really, really slow...

I mean, I love the guy, but...

Okay, I know this may raise a few eyebrows, but I was kind of just wondering...

Why is Scott Niedermayer playing for the Canadian Olympic team?

I know, I know, he's played for our country at every level, and he's won at every level. Heck, he's won at every level he's played at including the Memorial Cup when he was in the CHL...

But why is he leading our men's team in this year's Olympics?

Its not like we are lacking for experienced leadership, just look at Iginla or Pronger for that...

Its not like there isn't a handful of much younger, equally able defencemen available like Jay Bouwmeester or Robyn Regher...

He's not as quick as he used to be, and from what I saw in the first game, he's not as defensively sound as he used to be either...

So why is he there? Just so Stevie can feel good about having one of his old buddies in a relevant role?

I thought we were trying to go forward in the youth movement, not backwards...

That Oughta Do It...

Well, if something was going to knock me out of my funk the day I came back from vacation, this would pretty much do it...

I've lived in Toronto for about 8 years now and over the years I've acquired a lot of friends and acquaintances who are huge Leaf fans (if that is really possible) and are quick to tell me every rumour about the Leafs picking up everyone from Peter Forsberg to Roberto Luongo. When you throw in the fact that my hometown a couple hours to the north is also polluted with them (yes, I did mean polluted), I've pretty much lived my life surrounded by them and I've been very vocal about my love for the Flames...

Which leads me to Sunday afternoon...

I spent last week in the Dominican Republic where I had no idea what was going on in the NHL (which, given the recent play of the Flames was probably a good thing), and I had just gotten home that morning...

So after a few hours of sleep I was reading through my emails and my buddy Tim calls me. I don't usually hear from him too much, unless he wants to make a trade in our fantasy pool or he's blabbing about who the Leafs are picking up now...

So it starts out the same way as every other time...

"Hey buddy, how's it going?"

"We really need to get together for pints some time in the next couple weeks..."

And then he drops this one...

"Your boy Phaneuf is a Leaf now, eh?"

Of course, I consider the source, so my first response is "uhm, yeah, I'll believe it when I see it..."

Which is about when I am stumbling over to Facebook where another buddy of mine starts talking to me over instant messenger about the same thing...

And then I see all the status updates...

And finally the links...

Crap...

But let me clarify a little...

Its not so much that Phaneuf got traded...

Its not that the Flames didn't get a big name back...

Its not even that he got traded to the hated Leafs (well, pitied Leafs lately)...

After just coming back from a week in the sun, where hockey was one of the furthest things from my daily thoughts...

Its that I had to find out about it from about twenty Leaf fans at the same time!

Olli sure could use a friend right now...

Defending the defenceless?

Sounds like a noble cause, doesn't it? Until you realize that I mean that he can't play defence as opposed to can't defend himself...

I've spent a fair bit of my time all over the Flames blogosphere lately trying to defend the Olli Jokinen trade from deadline day (which the rest of the NHL deemed a great pickup for the Flames, but then again, they don't know Lombardi like we do). I've been arguing that this could be a great addition for Calgary, but he needs one big thing to happen first...

Calgary's walking (skating?) wounded need to return from the injured reserve to bolster a lineup that is remarkably weakened right now, what with having no second line whatsoever. When Langkow returns to the Flames lineup, and hopefully Bourque sooner than later (Bertuzzi can take his time), I have a feeling that the Flames will see a bit of a resurgence in scoring. When the LA Kings brought in Wayne Gretzky, it marked a huge up shoot in points for Bernie Nicholls, who got shifted back to the second line and had a record year of 70 goals and 80 assists, up from only 78 points the season before (and he subsequently got traded to the Rangers halfway through the next season). Now, I'm definitely not saying that Jokinen is anywhere near the talent level of Gretzky, but I do think he is closer than Lombardi (nor do I think Langkow is as good as Hollywood Bernie, nor would he wear a hot pink suit). But I have always been of the opinion that having a second solid scoring line will do wonders when it comes to forcing opposing teams to pick one line to defend over the other...

One complaint about Jokinen that was heard often on trade deadline day was his reputation as a clubhouse cancer, especially in regards to how he deals with the younger players, but I just don't think he had a solid example to learn from. I tried a few times to demonstrate that he hadn't had a solid leadership example to follow during the developing stages of his career (admittedly sometimes more effectively than others), and now that he is in an organization that seems to be hemorrhaging leaders with Iginla, Regehr, and Conroy to an extent, he won't be looked upon for that role. When he was with the Panthers, he didn't really have anyone and I don't think he knew what he had to do when he was thrust into the spotlight there...

Sure Jokinen will never be the own-zone presence that Lombardi was, but we have other guys on their way up that can take over that role (I'm looking at Boyd and Nystrom here). I don't see anyone in our immediate pipeline that can add the scoring touch that Jokinen has always exhibited. And I don't consider Backlund on the same level yet...

And you know he has to be happy to be playing somewhere that hockey is very much a part of everyday life (at least, he's happy right now)...

The Flames played horrible in the last couple of games on the road, but that can't be attributed solely to Jokinen. Let's see what he can do against the Devils in Jersey tomorrow night against a good (great?) goaltender and a team that plays solid defence. Not to mention a real playoff contender...

For now I'm still trying to reserve a little judgement...

Looking at the pick ups...

So far it looks like the Flames have grabbed a couple of players to make the push toward the playoffs and to strengthen the injury-depleted lineup...

Calgary re-acquired blueliner Jordan Leopold from Colorado for a guy they claimed off waivers yesterday, a prospect that's playing in the 'O', and a second round draft pick they got off of Montreal in the Tanguay deal. Which is a little of a full circle thing, since the Flames sent Leopold to the Avalanche in a trade for Tanguay in the first place...

Can't really complain about this deal at all, since the boys didn't really give anything up from the current roster...

The Flames also picked up Olli Jokinen from the Phoenix Coyotes in return for sending Lombardi, Prust, and a conditional first rounder back to the desert. Which re-unites Jokinen with Mike Keenan, who should be able to control Olli's apparent clubhouse cancer reputation...

Its tough losing Lombardi, but he wasn't really living up to the potential we all had for him (although he has been playing well of late, which may have helped in the deal). Prust is out for the season, so it doesn't really take away from the Flame roster at this point. And the first round draft pick is at Calgary's option as to whether its this year or next year, but I'm thinking you take that option for this year (given the fairly high finish they are looking at), rather than take the risk of placing even better next year (which they would be very hard pressed to do). The only way you don't is if you have a player that you really want still left in the draft this year, but when you are picking in the 24-27 range, I don't really see that happening...

Also of note is that the Flames still have to do something to clear up the cap overrun that they just created...

Deadlines...

To Deal or not to Deal

With the arrival of trade deadline day, I figured it was time for me to ignore one deadline to concentrate on another. The last couple of months I've been working towards a huge deadline at work, where I've been asked to do 3 years worth of work in only 6 months...

So you'll have to excuse me for not chiming in lately, what with working overtime and still playing hockey five days a week. My mind just wasn't into it. I could probably have written something while watching the games, but at that point I was just content to sit there and not think...

So over at Five Hole Fanatics, Kent has a little contest going to see who can guess the first player that Darryl Sutter trades for leading up to the deadline. Now this 'contest' started over a month ago, but as everybody knows there hasn't been a whole lot of action on the trade front since then...

The major problem being that there isn't a whole lot of separation when it comes to the playoff bubble and the teams at the bottom of the rankings. At one point in the Western Conference a few weeks ago, the 15th place team was only 5 points out of a playoff spot. So most teams are still trying to figure out if they are a buyer or a seller...

Even now, there is only a 10 point difference in the Western Conference between St Louis in 12th (64 points) and Vancouver in 5th (74 points). Even Colorado at the bottom of the West is only 11 points out of 7th place, but with only 18 games remaining and that many teams left to jump, they are essentially out of it...

The Eastern Conference is a little bit easier to figure out, with a bottom tier of 5 teams including the Islanders, Thrashers, Lightning, Senators, and Leafs all being pretty much out of it at this point. But that still leaves 10 teams vying for 8 spots with only a month to go in the season, and there is only 9 points separating Buffalo (69 points) and Philadelphia (78 points)...

If I had to make a decision in regards to buyers, sellers, and standing pat, the lists would look like this...

Standing pat: Sharks, Red Wings, Bruins, Blackhawks, and Devils...

Sellers: Islanders, Thrashers, Lightning, Senators, Leafs, Avalanche, Coyotes, Kings (okay, those were the easy ones), Blues, and Ducks (they are on the bubble and have been dropping a lot lately, not to mention that they have the fewest games left)...

Buyers: Flames, Canucks, Blue Jackets, Oilers, Predators, Stars, Wild, Capitals, Flyers, Canadiens, Panthers, Rangers, Penguins, Hurricanes, and Sabres...