Hello everyone. Hope all are having a good summer. Since we are entering the dog days of the NHL offseason with little to nothing to discuss (aside from loopy trade rumors) I figured I would start a topic specific to one player and one player only here. Matt Cooke. I realize he is discussed quite a bit, specifically in trade talks, but I don't want that here. I just want a thread with some quality and insightful/personal thoughts regarding Matt Cooke the player and perhaps we can start other threads in the future regarding other Canucks as well. Here is my take on the Cooker...

Matt Cooke:
Jersey #24, NHL Seasons 8, Age 28, Canadian
Height - 6'-0", Weight 205 lbs.

He's feisty, aggressive, not as small as some think, one of the top 5 agitators in the game easily, a coward, mouthy, and capable of scoring some clutch points when necessary. He earns 1.5 million a year, which in my estimation (according to free agency anyways) is an okay deal and not something worth trading him over considering he is probably the most versatile forward on the team. He can create room for scoring forwards as seen during brief stints with Morrison and Naslund, but probably isn't consistent enough to play with those two for a very long stretch. In my thinking he is the epitome of a perfect 3rd line forward and EVERYONE seems to hate playing against him. I have read posts on here from people who seem to think guys like Burrows/Cowan/Isbister/Ritchie can replicate what Cooke does, but without trying to make anyone angry, I disagree. Based on the law of averages anyways...

In the last five seasons Cooke has averaged...
- 68 games per season (He has suffered injury problems, but many of them fluky you can't deny)
- 11.4 goals per season
- 30.2 points per season
- Is +22 in that time

-> Isbister is a career -39, afraid to use his size (from what I hear), and hasn't garnered over 30 pts in a season in over 7 years.
-> Burrows is an agitator true, but he defines offensively challenged as well, despite his hard luck this year. He could never fill a second line role briefly like Cooke could.
-> Ritchie is also a pain in the neck to play against, but has never busted 15 pts or more in an NHL season and is older than Cooke. He also isn't as versatile, similar to Burrows.
-> Cowan...well don't get me started on this comparison. Cowan is a fighter and a tough guy when he needs to be. He went on a tiny scoring streak last season, but he will never match Cooke's ability (though not great) to score here and there.

Perhaps its just my opinion, but I feel there are other posters on this forum who would agree with me that Cooke is not as expendable as some seem to think. He is a player coaches love and once he found his groove this season after Christmas he was a major contributor for the team. I, however, will not go so far as to say he is untradeable. That would be silly, but he isn't as worthless as some seem to think. What are your thoughts my fellow CDC posters?

Good post. I agree cooke is not expendable and is a very impportant piece of the canucks.His grit and determination to get under other players skin helps the canucks more than these cooke bashers and trade wanters seem to see. Keep the cooker!

I think if anything we need his grit and energy on the team, so I would keep him for that

as pierre would say HES A MONSTER

Ha ha ha! He did make Pierre's Monster Team at the end of the season. There is just a lot to like about Matt Cooke that not everyone sees I think. He brings a lot of different elements to the table (minus the fighting) that most pluggers don't.

When they do those polls asking players who's the most annoying to play against, Cooke's always up there...now we already lost Ruutu, we can't go losing Cooke, that's my opinion. You need guys like that and I think it showed in the playoffs, missing Cooke and Kesler really hurt our game a lot.

Ive always loved the Cookie Monster.

His days as a Canuck are numbered, if Nonis knows what's what.

Cooke is just too small to play the style he does, and all those hits are starting to catch up with him.

Cooke is a coward & highly overpaid. I would've kept Ruutu over Cooke.

Ya i agree hope they dont trade him

There is a difference between being smart and being a coward. One of Cookes jobs is to aggitate and draw penalties and he has it down to a science. Highly overpaid? I think not, especially with the new inflation of salaries. 1.5 million for a guy capable of playing on the 2nd/3rd line who brings alot of energy to the game is worth it. If he were a UFA this season someone would have offered him more than 1.5 guaranteed.

Is he becoming a bit frail and injury prone? yes....and that's the only reason that I would want to consider letting him go.

Matt Cooke:

5'-11" - Not 6'..close, but no cigar.
200lbs

0.15 - Goals per game.
0.21 - Assists per game.

0.37 - Points per game.
+18 - Career +/-
4 PP Goals Career
8 SHG Career
561 Career PIM - in 505 games

Playoffs:

8 Goals
4 Assists
32 Games
30 PIM
+6
1 GWG <-- Put this in for the "Cooke is Clutch" crowd.

Hardly inexpendable. With the above numbers, and the cap era, as much I as I think Cooke is a good 3rd liner, we can spend 1.5m else where. With a team that already has Kesler, Burrows, Rypien, Cowan, Linden *if he re-signs, Isbister, Ritchie and other AHLers this team can ill afford to overpay for another 3rd liner.

I do like Cooke and what he brings to the table, but I would not say that he is untradable, same with Kesler..though I like him a lot less.

[quote name='Nucks4Eternity' date='Jul 19 2007, 02:15 PM' post='4773909']
There is a difference between being smart and being a coward. One of Cookes jobs is to aggitate and draw penalties and he has it down to a science.

Exactly, I agree there is a difference between being a coward & an agitator. Cooke is a coward, spearing Matt Johnson, suckering Jason Marshall, spearing at Boogaard when he's on the bench. Cooke would never drop the gloves with these guys. He's alway so much tougher when the linsemen are in between. Hence Cooke=coward.
Burrows is an agitator.

His job is not to drop the gloves. His job is to make the big dumb goons you love so much take stupid penalties - it works all the time.

woot, cooke, i like, no trade.

Ruutu sucks compared to Cooke....

All Ruutu could do was be a pain in the ass and would you put him on a line with Naslund? no but cooke does a nice job with him and mo...

I'd like to know how many penalties he's drawn. Given that it's largely what he's there for, there really ought to be a running count.

I'd like to see that stat but it would never happen - too subjective.

Everyone COUNT!

Let's have a running count of every cheapshot he throws & how many times he's hidden behind the officials. I count 3 already.
What a coward!

So many people just don't get it, Cooke is EXACTLY what you want as an agitator, Ruutu wasn't, he took to many penalties, therefore he's gone. Cooke pisses players off then gets out of the way(watch him he's an expert at it) and more often then not he will DRAW penalties and not take them.

Cookie's a keeper

Lets count every time you make the same point. You like goons - we get it.

With ya on that one....

I don't think Ruutu offered the same versatility as Cooke though, plus he DID take more penalties than Cooke and had much less offensive upside.

I'm a bit indifferent when it comes to Cooke.

I was home for about a month last xmas and caught also every televised game. He is quite a funny guy and definatly adds some great chemistry to the team. My only complaint is that he seems inconsistent in his role.

There was a game in Calgary where he received a star selection. He was hitting a lot and just from watching you could tell was agitating and having a direct impact in the game. A few games later against Boston and Columbus where they lost on the road, he was invisible.

Cooke is a 4th liner on any championship team.
At 1mil max.



i dont want the division, i want the cup.

But you have to concede that not all championship teams have a guy as effective as Cooke on their roster, though by all means they probably would want one. Like it not, I just think Cooke is a glue guy and very few teams have a guy as good as he is at doing it. None of our other 3rd and 4th liners, aside from Kesler maybe, can fill in different holes like Matt Cooke can.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

Cooke and Ritchie play almost exactly the same game. Cooke>Ritchie, but Ritchie@675K>>Cooke@1.5.

Cooke was once my favourite Canuck, and I still like him. But once that Ritchie deal was announced, I knew he was a goner. We need goals, and so we need his 1.5 million cap space and/or trade value to land us a goal-scoring RW.

Plus, he's hilarious to listen to when he gets mic'ed

It's all subjective, I guess... Doesn't matter who likes him and who doesn't, so long as the team is happy with him. Can't wait to see him back on the ice.

Who said we don't like cooke? Good ANALasys