Former players share story of the Bruins and Pens agreeing to Shawn Thornton fighting Matt Cooke after dirty hit
In 2010, during a game between Boston and Pittsburgh, Penguins forward Matt Cooke delivered a massive and dangerous hit to the head of Marc Savard, which nearly ended his career.
Savard was eventually able to return to game action and went on to play in seven games during the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the next time the Bruins and Penguins met, Matt Cooke had to answer the bell by facing Shawn Thornton.
Dale Arnold, a former broadcaster on NESN, was on 'Dropping the Gloves' podcast this week and said that a trio of Boston Bruins met with Penguins forward Bill Guerin about Matt Cooke needing to answer the bell and to fight Shawn Thornton on his first shift.
He went on to add, "It had been handled by men, like men, in a way that the people that made a living that way could respect, could honour and it was over, it was done. Didn't mean they liked Matt Cooke after that. It didn't mean that they liked what he did to Marc Savard anymore. It just meant 'okay, we handled it, it's over.'"
Somehow, Matt Cooke avoided any supplemental discipline from the hit on Marc Savard and wasn't suspended whatsoever. Now, if that happened in today's NHL, there's no doubt that the league's Department of Player Safety would've handed him at least 5-10 games, if not more.
For Marc Savard, he returned to play in the 2010-11 season before suffering a career-ending concussion following a hit from Colorado Avalanche defenceman Matt Hunwick and while this hit was clean, his head hit off the glass and would never appear in an NHL game again.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 17 | 43 ANSWERS Former players share story of the Bruins and Pens agreeing to Shawn Thornton fighting Matt Cooke after dirty hit If Cooke's hit on Savard happened in 2023, how many games would he have received? | ||
| 1-5 games | 5 | 11.6 % |
| 6-10 games | 12 | 27.9 % |
| 10+ games | 20 | 46.5 % |
| See Results | 6 | 14 % |
| List of polls | ||
![Feb 17, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Connor McDavid (97) skates with the puck during the second period in a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game against Team Finland at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/530316.webp "Feb 17, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Connor McDavid (97) skates with the puck during the second period in a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game against Team Finland at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn")
![Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team United States forward Matthew Tkachuk (19) and Team Canada forward brandon Hagel (38) fight in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/530162.webp "Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team United States forward Matthew Tkachuk (19) and Team Canada forward brandon Hagel (38) fight in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images")
