The NHL should crack down hard on Cooke and send a message that head shots will not be tolerated (especially when the other player doesn’t see the hit coming, as was the case with Savard). It is the only way to deter players from doing something dirty or even thinking about doing something dirty.
But the NHL doesn’t operate like that. When it comes to setting a precedent or putting the fear of god into goons, the league has been softer than wet sand and more inconsistent than a politician running for re-election. In other words, the punishment doesn’t always fit the crime.
Flyers winger Mike Richards destroyed the Panthers' David Booth with a vicious hit to the head earlier this season and was suspended a grand total of zero games. Nada. Zilch.
Milan Lucic gave Maxim Lapierre a love tap with his stick in the playoffs last year and gets hit with a one-game suspension.
The Bruins — and hockey fans seeking justice — will be lucky if Cooke is banned for even a few games. And that will have the same effect as putting a band-aid on a broken leg.
This isn’t the first time Cooke has done something questionable. A slap on the wrist isn’t going to stop him (or anyone else) from going head-hunting in the future. No one knows if Cooke’s intent was to injure Savard, but the fact remains that the Bruins’ best player has a Grade 2 concussion.
Now Cooke needs to pay the price. And the cost should be high.
That is the only way to get his attention — and the attention of every other player, team and organization in the league.
The NHL needs to clean up the game before someone gets knocked out and doesn’t get back up.
Here’s an easy solution. If a player delivers a hit to the head from the blind side, it’s an automatic 10-game suspension. No questions asked. No appeals. Case closed. After that, make the player who delivered a questionable hit sit for as long as the player who received the hit is sidelined. In other words, if Savard misses 10 games, Cooke is out 20 games.
Take the guesswork out of law enforcement and remove subjectivity from the cheap-shot equation.
If that doesn’t work, let the Bruins go Charles Bronson on Cooke on March 18 when the Penguins come to Boston.
And don’t punish any of them.
