Matt Cooke Blames Fedor Tyutin, Downplays Danger of Reckless, Violent Hit

Matt Cooke was suspended four games for his dangerous hit on Fedor Tyutin, one that sent the Blue Jackets defenseman headfirst into the boards. With a few days to cool off and think about the ruling that gives him the longest suspension of his career, is the notorious cheap-shot artist Cooke a changed man? In a word — no.

In fact, he's blaming the victim.

"From my standpoint, as a guy who is physical on the ice, guys are trying to be physical with me," Cooke said, according to the the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I know who's on the ice, and I'm responsible for myself. I'm not going to leave myself in a vulnerable position two feet from the boards when I know someone's coming [like Tyutin did]."

Despite clearly targeting Tyutin from as far away as the blue line and leaving his feet to drive through Tyutin's back, Cooke said he didn't intend to hurt him.

"I'm glad that no one was hurt," Cooke said, according to the report. "It wasn't my intention to put him into the boards violently. He played the rest of the game and played [since]."

Cooke seems to think that because Tyutin wasn't paralyzed, didn't suffer a concussion or a broken nose and didn't miss any ice time that his hit wasn't a big deal. Obviously, the four-game suspension was as futile as we all imagined it would be.