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Matt Cooke to the Capitals for Pettinger
by Alanah McGinley on 02/26/08 at 01:37 PM ET
Comments (18)
TSN is reporting that Matt Cooke has been traded by the Vancouver Canucks to the Washington Capitals for Matt Pettinger.
Ongoing updates and summary/random thoughts below…
Update 1:53pm ET:
Pettinger was just interviewed on TSN. Didn’t have much to say but that he brings a physical presence to the team. And that he scored 20+ goals a couple years ago.
I know very little about the guy (Caps fans want to educate us Canuck fans?) but I will miss definitely miss Cooke.
Update 2:03pm ET:
The Canucks have put out a generic press release confirming this trade. Now I’m just waiting for comments from Cooke who hasn’t been interviewed by anyone in the media yet—at least that I can find.
Update 4:09pm ET:
I just came by this mp3 audio file of comments by Matt Pettinger in a teleconference with the Vancouver media. I haven’t listened to it all yet, so I’m not sure if there are any big revelations—although he does mention that he didn’t get along well with the Capitals coach.
Update 5:29pm ET:
Jason Botchford at The Province suddenly remembered he had a blog today after 5 weeks off it, and just in time to take some parting shots at Matt Cooke on his way out the door. Classy stuff (I mumble, sarcastically) but perhaps worth a read to get the perspective of an ‘expert’.
Sigh. Maybe I shouldn’t be a smartass, but geez… I know Cooke wasn’t everyone’s favorite but having been drafted by the Canucks in 1997, he’s spent his entire NHL career here. I can live with this trade and understand why it probably had to happen, but I’m also going to miss the guy, too.
Best of luck to him, I say.
And now, onto Pettinger. Another player who has spent his entire career with the organization that drafted him, and like Cooke, had some ‘bonding issues’ with his coach.
Somehow I feel like I went to a swap-meet today. 
Filed in: vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Comments
Who’s gonna get Iggy going when the Flames and Canucks do battle now? Mr. Kesler, you’re up…
Posted by dash_pinched on 02/26/08 at 01:47 PM ET
Burrows and Kesler fit the agitator rolls just fine.
Cooke will be missed in Vancouver though.
Posted by Shabbadoo on 02/26/08 at 01:54 PM ET
Who’s gonna get Iggy going when the Flames and Canucks do battle now?
Kesler will keep Iginla in check as he always has.
Posted by PuckHound61 from Speckville USA on 02/26/08 at 01:54 PM ET
Pettinger - likeable, fast skater, plays on the PK, plays the body. Snake bit this season in terms of goals. Wasn’t good enough to play on the top 2 lines.
Posted by Omar on 02/26/08 at 01:56 PM ET
Petty (or Princess, as he’s known in some circles) hasn’t been the same since his shoulder injury. He’s very fast, but shies away from contact a bit since the injury and has done jack and squat this year.
Hopefully a change of scenary does him good. He’s a good guy, but is a bit of a ‘tweener - not a top six guy, and not rugged enough any more to be a really effective checker.
Posted by J.P. from Washington, D.C. on 02/26/08 at 01:56 PM ET
Sounds like Vancity got the same player back in return, but at 500 grand less.
Plus Cooke is UFA this coming summer. Nonis was probably planning on offering lower than what Cooke got.
I think emotion out of it, this deal probably is good for both teams. Although I will miss Cooker.
Posted by Laker from dapuddle on 02/26/08 at 02:51 PM ET
I know you’ll probably never speak to me again, alanah, but THANK GOD COOKE IS GONE!
Am I really the only one who is happy about this deal?
Posted by Temujin from Smithers, BC on 02/26/08 at 04:21 PM ET
Isn’t it kind of sad that this is the big discussion for Canucks fans on the day of the trade deadline? I mean, I didn’t want Nonis to bet the farm on a rental, but...some scoring help would have been nice. Even another Smolinski-type might have been better than nothing, considering the lack of offensive punch. The Vancouver players must feel the same way, despite generally saying all the right things about “winning with the guys we have in the room right now”.
San Jose, Detroit and Dallas added very solid players, and they all looked strong before. Anaheim has only tinkered, but keep getting better anyway. Also frustrating to see Colorado bring in Forsberg, Salei and Foote without giving up much, right when Sakic and Smyth get back from injuries. They might still miss the playoffs, but man their roster looks good as long as Theodore keeps improving.
Greyish-silver lining? Calgary and Minnesota didn’t add anything significant either.
Posted by Jeremy from Summerland, BC on 02/26/08 at 06:03 PM ET
I kept waiting for Jokinen.
Posted by Laker from dapuddle on 02/26/08 at 06:07 PM ET
I’m kind of glad Nonis didn’t trade away all our key players or up and comers. I was looking for bettery scoring but Mo is back soon.
I mean it could be worse - we could be Montreal fans. Am I the only one who is confused about them trading away their #1 goaltender? Pittburgh also payed a steep price for a UFA.
Face it, rentals are never proven and Foppa and Foote are trying to relive their glory days.Should be a fun stretch run. Go Canucks!
Posted by Trini from VanC on 02/26/08 at 06:25 PM ET
there goes a good line com.
Posted by emory d from regina on 02/26/08 at 06:47 PM ET
Cooke=Rypien=Ritchie=Brown.
Career-long Canuck or not, Cooke wasn’t worth keeping around, and his antics were beginning to wear on me as a fan. I had no problem with Botchford taking any shots at him. Being around a long time shouldn’t leave a guy immune to criticism (unless your name is Trevor Linden). Sometimes the truth just hurts.
Posted by Nick on 02/26/08 at 07:19 PM ET
I’m on the fence here. Mostly because I don’t know a thing about Pet.
But what I do know is that Cookie hasn’t put up good numbers (which we NEED) and I’m not a big fan of the questionable nature of 99% of his hits.
btw, Canucks.com has him marked as 5’ 11’, 205lbs. That seems a little generous..no?
Posted by LOUiE from Cowtown on 02/26/08 at 07:48 PM ET
Maybe the best thing about losing Cooke is that we won’t have to endure another summer of armchair-GM/coaches all over Vancouver projecting his imminent offensive breakout, where he will fill that big hole on the wing on one or both of the top two lines.
Posted by Jeremy from Summerland, BC on 02/26/08 at 07:53 PM ET
This upset me alot. I’ll miss Cookie. He sounds excited to get the hell out of Vancouver which, as a fan, kinda hurts. But I hope he does well in Washington.
Posted by alayna from Vancouver on 02/26/08 at 08:02 PM ET
I’ll miss Cookie as well. I guess we won’t be seeing any more miraculous Cooke goals with 1.7 seconds left to tie the game eh? The trade that scared me today? Simon to minnesota! Wow, we are in trouble in the wild vs canucks games!
Posted by canucks on 02/26/08 at 09:22 PM ET
Cooke has long been my favourite canuck by far. This is a little guy who manages to throw some fantastically effective (although not always clean) hits, works every second he’s on the ice, and loooooves starting trouble with just about anyone.
This is the sort of guy you want to have guarding your back and making opportunities for you while you focus on something else. There’s a reason his teammates loved him so much, and that’s because he was always solid and reliable. You can’t have just high-scorers on the team… there need to be guys like Matt Cooke to get in there and give those guys the boost when they need it.
Posted by wannabesublime from melbourne on 03/10/08 at 10:23 PM ET
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About Canucks & Beyond
Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003, sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen. In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah is one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast, as featured at Canucks.com.
She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
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Oh my Fing God. My team just picked up arguably the biggest pest in the league! I am so torn on this one. Cooke is as dirty as they come and doesn’t drop the mits as much as he should. Then again, when guys like this come to your team, you end up liking them. Although not as good, he fits the Dale Hunter mold.
Posted by Sig from Washington DC on 02/26/08 at 01:45 PM ET