Fan In Van

Cooke Wanted Out

Everyone may love the Cooker, but the feeling might not have been mutual.

A report on the TEAM 1040 has hinted that the now ex-Canuck Matt Cooke had asked for a trade earlier this year, at to which Dave Nonis had said he would try to find.

This comes at a little bit of a shock to me; after Cooke’s mediocre at best year last season and a year following which was not much better, it was hard for me to believe Cooke was a guy who even had value. What kind of NHL team wanted to take on a $1.5M crash and banger who hadn’t accomplished anything sensational in four years?

That being said, it looked pretty evident this year that Cooke and coach Alain Vigneault butted heads several times this year. With Cooke being a healthy scratch at times this year and already playing minimum minutes, you had to think perhaps Cooke would not be a Canuck following this year. But again, I was very surprised when Matt Cooke was traded to Washington in exchange for Victoria native Matt Pettinger.

Matt Cooke was replaceable; Alex Burrows killed penalties and was an agitator who got under the opponent’s skin. Likewise with Ryan Kesler, who had two memorable back-to-back fights with superstars Olli Jokinen and Vincent Lecavalier. I haven’t seen Matt Cooke fight once against a star this year, and while he said that turtling and coming off as the token coward increases his effectiveness, I disagree. And on a team which already has about eight or nine players who can crash and bang all night, Cooke’s exit seemed inevitable.

But as a longtime Canuck fan, I think it’s important to remember some of the things Matt Cooke has done in a Vancouver uniform. He scored two of the most memorable playoff goals this decade, and it’s always a treat to see those kind of goals happen.

And for those who want to see those goals: