The Fourth of July in 2012 was marked with the usual summer traditions of parades, good food and great friends. But there was one other thing that made it a stand-out day in the state of hockey: The signings of top free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to the Minnesota Wild.
That was some pretty exciting news for hockey fans in the land of 10,000 lakes. Fast forward to the National Hockey League's free agent season this year, and it's a different story for the Wild.
Adding the wrong Cooke to the kitchen
Player Matt Cooke, 34, made the biggest headline splash. The Wild signed him to a three-year, $7.5 million deal, and let's just say the Minnesota fans aren't too happy with the move. If you know the difference between an enforcer and a goon in the NHL, I would classify Cooke as a goon.
I know the Wild hasn't been known as a tough team. They don't have the physicality of others out there. But I don't want them to do it this way. I don't want to win because we have a goon on the team who specializes in taking runs at players and injuring them.
Wild fans got a good taste of Cooke when he was with the Vancouver Canucks a few years back. His reputation is a cheap-shot artist on skates. That's the difference between being an enforcer. He's not a clean player, though from what I've read he's allegedly changed his ways and is more focused on scoring.
He needs to prove that to Wild fans.
Just a dirty player
Cooke played with the Pittsburgh Penguins and won a Stanley Cup with that team in 2009. But I don't think that's what people remember about him. He's a notoriously dirty player. That's where the focus lies.
Search for "Matt Cooke" on YouTube.com and here's what you get: Checking from behind, player injured by Cooke's skate, Cooke's "cheapshotting history," taunting, hipchecking, chirping, knocking out Marc Savard and elbowing. And that's only the first page of results.
You don't see a bunch of highlight-reel goals or overtime winners for Cooke. It's not scientific or anything, but it's a pretty good indicator of the type of player he's been. He will have a very tough time escaping his reputation, if he has in fact changed his ways.
Bad reactions
My brother texted me about the Cooke acquisition by the Wild. It would've been great to have Twitter right in front of me to see the reactions of hockey fans. I did scan back later though, and right away Star Tribune Wild beat writer Michael Russo noted how Minnesota fans were not happy. That was my gut reaction as well.
Here are a few related Tweets regarding the Cooke deal:
@_Happy_Gilmore: Minnesota Wild have signed Matt Cooke to a 3 yr deal with $75,000 in incentives if he takes his skate off and tries to stab someone.
@jclong: The #MnWild signing Matt Cooke is kinda like finding out your sister is now dating a guy that beat you up when you were younger.
@vlamb24: Really, Matt Cooke?? I guess it will be like learning to cheer for Bertuzzi.
Other Wild roster changes
In other moves, the Wild traded fan-favorite and heavy hitter Cal Clutterbuck. I'm sorry, but I'd rather have the scrappy Cal than the dirty Cooke. The team also told Minnesota native and veteran player Matt Cullen that he wouldn't be asked back with the Wild, so he signed with Nashville for a two-year deal. Pierre-Marc Bouchard inked a one-year deal with the New York Islanders.
Just before the Cooke move lit things up Friday, the Wild dealt Devin Setoguchi to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a second-round pick in 2014. Not everyone is leaving, however. The Wild signed Baudette, Minn. native and former Minnesota Golden Gopher Keith Ballard to a two-year deal and re-signed defenseman Jared Spurgeon for three years.
No comments:
Post a Comment