Cooke won't be suspended
Colin Campbell, the NHL's director of hockey operations, has decided not to suspend Matt Cooke for his hit on Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins, according to RDS.ca.
Cooke, a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins, connected with a blow to Savard's head during a game Sunday night. Savard had just finished releasing a shot on goal when he was blindsided. The 32-year-old was carried off the ice on a stretcher and later diagnosed with a grade two concussion.
Savard is out indefinitely, and Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli has said he may miss the rest of the season. Cooke was not penalized on the play.
Campbell pointed to his precedent setting decision in the aftermath of the David Booth hit earlier this season when providing his rationale. In a game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Florida Panthers Booth was carrying the puck just inside the opposing blueline when Flyers forward Mike Richards hit him high, with his shoulder making direct contact with Booth's head.
Booth was carried off the ice on a stretcher. He has since returned to the Panthers' lineup, but only after missing 45 games with a concussion.
Campbell did not suspend Richards for his hit on Booth, and said Wednesday that a suspension of Cooke for a similar hit was not justified.
However, a new rule was passed earlier Wednesday morning by the NHL's general managers which is designed to curb head shots and future injuries. If passed by the NHL, the league's board of governors and the NHLPA's competition committee later this offseason, the new regulation will be in place next year.
Campbell said if the new rule against head shots was in place now, Cooke would have been suspended, writes RDS.
This is not the first time a hit delivered by Cooke has come into question by the league. Cooke has already been suspended three times by the NHL for a total of six games throughout his 10-year NHL career. One of the suspensions--which lasted two games--came earlier this season when Cooke struck Artem Anisimov of the New York Rangers.
