After yesterday's game, the story wasn't the Pens loss, it was what kind of suspension is Matt Cooke going to get for the cheap elbow to the head of Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh? That elbow completely changed the game. The Pens had a combined 9 penalty minutes in about 5 minutes. But the Matt Cooke elbow was the worst of them. Under Rule 48, for a repeat offender like Cooke, the suspension is 8-10 games.
But this is more about what the Pens should do. Mario Lemieux proposed a new fining system for teams. I believe that the Pens should lead by example and pay up. If Cooke is suspended for 8 games, the Pens pay $250,000. If Cooke is suspended for 9-10 games, the Pens pay $500,000. That would go to the NHL. Now let's say for instance that the NHL doesn't take the money, and why wouldn't they, the Pens should pay that money to a charity of their choice *cough* Mario Lemieux Foundation.
After the season, I believe the organization is going to be in serious discussions about whether to buyout Matt Cooke or find someone to trade with. Cooke will make $3,250,000 over the next two years. In a buyout, the Pens pay approximately 1/3rd of his cap hit for the next 4 years. This would save the Pens $1083332, not to mention the number of fines Cooke would cost the Pens. But the cap hit would hurt. In the first year, the cap hit would cost $341,667 which would be significantly less than Cooke's current hit of $1,800,000. In the second year, the cap hit is increased to $1,091,667 which is essentially a decent player. In the final two years of the buyout, the cap hit decreases to $541,667, which is good call-up money or a league minimum salary. The trade would save the Pens the cap hit to pay a player not on their roster, but they'd have to receive almost nothing in return. No one is going to want Cooke if it will cost the team more money. A third option is to put him on waivers. This also doesn't seem likely. So either expect a buyout or Matt Cooke to be on the roster next year.
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