Matt Cooke

For other people of the same name, see Matt Cooke (disambiguation).

Matt Cooke
Cooke with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2010
Born (1978-09-07) September 7, 1978 (age 46)
Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 208 lb (94 kg; 14 st 12 lb)
Position Left wing
Played for Vancouver Canucks
Washington Capitals
Pittsburgh Penguins
Minnesota Wild
Current ECHL coach Newfoundland Growlers
National team  Canada
NHL draft 144th overall, 1997
Vancouver Canucks[1]
Playing career 1998–2015

Matthew David Cooke (born September 7, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played sixteen seasons and 1046 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). Cooke won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2008–09 NHL season and was a member of the Team Canada team that won the gold medal at the 2004 World Championships. In addition to having played for the Penguins, he also played in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals and Minnesota Wild. Cooke was born in Belleville, Ontario, but grew up in Stirling, Ontario. He served as head coach of the Newfoundland Growlers for the 2023/24 season.

Cooke's playing style earned him the reputation as one of the NHL's "pests".[2][3] During his NHL career, Cooke was criticized and often suspended for hits, some involving head-shots, or knee-on-knee collisions that have injured opposing players. Most notable was a hit to the head of Marc Savard, which was an important factor influencing NHL rule changes intended to deter such conduct. After his longest suspension in 2011 for a hit to the head of Ryan McDonagh, Cooke pledged to change his style of play, although he had another lengthy suspension in the 2014 playoffs for a knee-on-knee hit delivered to Tyson Barrie of the Colorado Avalanche.

  1. ^ "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". National Hockey League.
  2. ^ Graff, Chad (November 7, 2013). "Minnesota Wild: Matt Cooke has changed his game, but he's still a pest". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  3. ^ Colligan, Mike (March 21, 2011). "Matt Cooke Suspended 14-17 Games; the End of the 'NHL Pest'?". thehockeywriters.com. Retrieved March 9, 2018.