The Penguins' forward, who delivered a blind-side elbow to the head of Rangers forward Ryan McDonagh on Sunday, has an in-person hearing scheduled with the NHL at 1 p.m. on Monday, according to several reports. The fact that the hearing requires Cooke's presence in person and not just on the phone indicates that a long-term suspension could be forthcoming.
The hit seems to be the exact type of play that Rule 48 looked to eliminate — a rule change that was created in the wake of Cooke's hit on Marc Savard last March. After that hit, NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell said he could not find any specific rule broken and therefore did not suspend Cooke.
Even Cooke's head coach seemed resigned to the fact that he'll be without Cooke for a while.
"I don't think you can talk about eliminating head shots as an organization and not expect that to be examined," Dan Bylsma said of the hit, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "It looks to be contact right to the head. The league will look at that at treat it as such."
This year, Cooke has already been suspended for four games for his hit from behind on Blue Jackets defenseman Fedor Tyutin.
