On July 1, Pittsburgh Penguins’ forward Matt Cooke would have become an unrestricted free agent. Back in the summer of ’08, Cooke was signed by Pittsburgh as a free agent and has been one of the Penguins’ top killers for penalties (alongside Jordan Staal, of course!) as he recorded 106 penalty minutes this past season alone.

Cooke had 15 assists in addition to his 15 goals this past season for his 79 appearances as well as +17 rating. He has played in 11 NHL seasons with three different teams – his current and most recent team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Washington Capitals as well as the Vancouver Canucks, who he made his NHL debut with back in ‘99.

The 31-year-old forward has now re-signed with the Penguins for a contract deal that is worth more than $5 million. The total deal is for three years at $5.4 million, which includes an annual cap hit of $1.8 million.

Cooke is a very aggressive and disturbing player to some especially when he hits players with blindside hits. For example, his last hit was just that on Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins. He went Savard from his blindside in a game on March 5, which resulted in Savard being taken off the ice on a stretcher and then transported to the hospital. He was diagnosed with a Grade 2 concussion and missed the rest of the season, including the Playoffs. This hit received no punishment at all from the NHL where many believe that it should have.

Although he has a hard-hit reputation that represents him, Cooke is an outstanding player with an excellent skill set and knowledge of the game. He is definitely an asset to any team that can get him and apparently, the Penguins didn’t want him making it to July 1, becoming an unrestricted free agent, and having another team gain the option of taking Cooke.

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