New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Minnesota Wild forward Matt Cooke will have an in-person hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety for his knee- to-knee hit on Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie during Monday's playoff game.
Cooke was only assessed a minor for his play on Barrie, which occurred just over two minutes into the second period of Minnesota's 1-0 victory in Game 3 of the Western Conference quarterfinals. Barrie was later diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament and is scheduled to miss 4-to-6 weeks.
The league announced shortly after the contest was over that Cooke was scheduled to have the hearing, an indicator that the punishment would last for five games at the minimum. The meeting will take place Wednesday in New York.
The 35-year-old winger has been suspended six times for various offenses during his 15-year NHL career, with the last coming in the spring of 2011, a 17-game ban (10 regular-season games and the entirety of the Penguins' first- round series against Tampa Bay) for a blatant elbow to the head of Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh.
Despite his history of supplemental discipline, Cooke is not considered a "repeat offender" from a financial standpoint since his last suspension occurred more than 18 months ago.
[SportsNetwork.com]
