HockeyCooke an embarrassment to Penguins

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Matt Cooke embarrassed the Pittsburgh Penguins with a selfish, predatory elbow that, luckily, did not cause serious damage to New York's Ryan McDonagh. (Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

Prediction: Matt Cooke is going to get hammered by the NHL.

And the primary reason won't be his unbelievably dumb elbow to Ryan McDonagh's head. Or that he's a repeat offender. Or the fact he can't control himself.

It's going to be because he embarrassed the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Over the past two weeks, both players and executives indicated they wanted stiffer and more consistent penalties for repeat offenders. Apparently, it led to a terrific exchange at the general managers' meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., where league disciplinarian Colin Campbell challenged several GMs, asking if they would really be so supportive when their players were affected (Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that one).

It's no secret that Pittsburgh is trying to be progressive. Ray Shero, whose best player, Sidney Crosby, and son, Christopher, are battling concussions, is on record as saying he wants the league to adopt a zero-tolerance penalty for head shots.

Meanwhile, ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun reported details of a letter Mario Lemieux sent to the league that would see teams fined for their players' actions. In Lemieux's proposal, Pittsburgh would already be out $600,000 this season.

Throughout all of this, the Penguins were incredibly supportive of Cooke, the poster boy for suspension impotence. They put an "A" on his jersey, telling everyone willing to listen that he was bailing out of dirty hits.

And, of course, Lemieux drew harsh criticism for his statement following the infamous Feb. 11 goonfest against the New York Islanders. Lemieux was branded a hypocrite for stating, "We, as a league, must do a better job of protecting the integrity of the game and the safety of our players," while keeping Cooke on his roster.

In return, Cooke embarrassed them with a selfish, predatory elbow that, luckily, did not cause serious damage to McDonagh. But it hurt a team that is playing so impressively, despite the loss of two all-world players in Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

Dan Bylsma is as measured and supportive as a coach gets in the NHL. For him to say, "I don't think you can talk about eliminating headshots as an organization and not expect that to be examined," well, it shows why Campbell doesn't have to worry about Shero and Lemieux defending Cooke now.

They can't.

No way Shero could ever go to another GM meeting arguing a no-tolerance head shot rule if he fought against a heavy suspension this time. He wouldn't be taken seriously. And Lemieux loses all moral ground about safety if he fights for this player at this time.

The Penguins simply can't trust Cooke, can't depend on him. So they'll accept Campbell's challenge, stand back and await the decision.

Campbell's been thrown a belt-high fastball. Now he's got to crush it.

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