One of the Dirtiest NHL Players of the Modern Era Is Now a Head Coach
A controversial former NHLer has been named to a head coaching position in the ECHL, and it's getting the kind of reaction you'd expect from some fans.
Matt Cooke played more than 1000 regular season NHL games between 1998 to 2015. Always known has a pest, Cooke walked the line pretty well his first nine seasons in the league, only getting suspended once. Between January of 2009 and March of 2011, he received four suspensions. Many believe he is the person that ended the career of Boston's Marc Savard. Now, Cooke has been named head coach of the ECHL's Newfoundland Growlers, an affiliate of the Toronto Marlies and Maple Leafs.
There seem to be very few positive reactions to the Growlers' announcement. Here's a sampling.
"Coming to the home opener just to boo him."
"At least he can't permanently injure anyone from behind the bench."
"This is such an L, can't believe our team would do this."
"THAT Matt Cooke? That's embarrassing.
Cooke takes over an ECHL team that has had a lot of success over the past two seasons, which led to the vacant coaching positions. Former head coach Eric Wellwood was promoted to assistant coach with the Marlies in the AHL.
Cooke wasn't a terrible player throughout his career. He hit double digits in goals several times, and has his name on the Stanley Cup from the Pittsburgh Penguins' win in 2009. That said, his reputation certainly got tarnished near the end of his NHL run, a result of his own actions.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 7 | 47 ANSWERS One of the Dirtiest NHL Players of the Modern Era Is Now a Head Coach Your opinion of Matt Cooke? | ||
| Terrible person and player | 22 | 46.8 % |
| I liked him. He played hard | 10 | 21.3 % |
| Don't care | 10 | 21.3 % |
| Not sure | 5 | 10.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
![Feb 20, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Brad Marchand (63) lifts the 4 Nations Face-Off trophy after winning against Team USA in overtime during the 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey championship game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/530800.webp "Feb 20, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Brad Marchand (63) lifts the 4 Nations Face-Off trophy after winning against Team USA in overtime during the 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey championship game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images")
![Feb 17, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada defenseman Josh Morrissey (44) and forward Anthony Cirelli (71) try and find the loose 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 Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/530722.webp "Feb 17, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada defenseman Josh Morrissey (44) and forward Anthony Cirelli (71) try and find the loose 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 Images")
![Feb 17, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Connor McDavid (97) shoots the puck while Team Finland defenseman Olli Maata (3) defends during the first period in a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/530714.webp "Feb 17, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Connor McDavid (97) shoots the puck while Team Finland defenseman Olli Maata (3) defends during the first period in a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images")
![Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates his goal against Team Finland in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/530544.webp "Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates his goal against Team Finland in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images")
![Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward brandon Hagel (38) plays the puck and Team United States defenseman Charlie McAvoy (25) defends in the second 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/530571.webp "Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward brandon Hagel (38) plays the puck and Team United States defenseman Charlie McAvoy (25) defends in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images")
