When hockey fans remember former NHL player Matt Cooke, they may picture him either as a Vancouver Canuck or Pittsburgh Penguin. Both cases are fair. Cooke was in Vancouver for parts of nine seasons, while he was a member of the Penguins for five seasons. He also won a Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2009 in the organization’s rematch with the Detroit Red Wings. However, despite these two teams being his main time in the league, Cooke also suited up for two more teams. He finished his career with the Minnesota Wild and played for them from 2013-14 to 2014-15. The other franchise he played a brief amount of time with is the Washington Capitals.
Cooke’s Career in Vancouver
Cooke was selected by the Canucks in the sixth round (144th overall) of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. He debuted in the NHL for the team during the 1998-99 season. He played in 30 games and registered two assists in that span. Cooke scored his first goal in the league the following campaign and ended up finishing the 1999-00 season with five goals and seven assists for 12 points in 51 games.
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Cooke gradually gained more points as the seasons went on and was a nice complementary piece on a Canucks roster that already had offensive weapons like Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Markus Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi, and Brendan Morrison among others. During his time in Vancouver, he posted the following stats:
- 1998-99: two assists in 30 games
- 1999-00: five goals and seven assists for 12 points in 51 games
- 2000-01: 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points in 81 games
- 2001-02: 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points in 82 games
- 2002-03: 15 goals and 27 assists for 42 points in 82 games
- 2003-04: 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points in 53 games
- 2005-06: eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points in 45 games
- 2006-07: 10 goals and 20 assists for 30 points in 81 games
- 2007-08: seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in 61 games
While in Vancouver, Cooke helped the Canucks make the postseason five times. In those five runs, he produced the following:
- 2001 Playoffs: zero points in four games
- 2002 Playoffs: three goals and two assists for five points in six games
- 2003 Playoffs: two goals and one assist for three points in 14 games
- 2004 Playoffs: three goals and one assist for four points in seven games
- 2007 Playoffs: zero points in one game
Cooke built a reputation as a solid player over his time with the Canucks and he was nice depth for the franchise. In the middle of the 2007-08 season, however, Cooke’s time in Vancouver came to an end.
Cooke’s Cup of Coffee in Washington
Cooke was traded to D.C. from Vancouver in exchange for forward Matt Pettinger. He joined a Capitals lineup who had the likes of Alex Ovechkin, a rookie named Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green, Alexander Semin, Sergei Fedorov, and Viktor Kozlov among others. The Capitals had also months earlier fired their head coach Glen Hanlon and replaced him with a first-time NHL bench boss by the name of Bruce Boudreau. Cooke played in 17 regular-season games for Washington and an additional seven in the 2008 Playoffs. He accrued seven points in the regular season (three goals and four assists), while going pointless in the postseason. After that, Cooke was not brought back. He played a handful of games for the Capitals near the end of the 2007-08 campaign, and then he found his way out through free agency.
Cooke’s Remaining NHL Time
Cooke joined the Penguins prior to the 2008-09 season. He was able to go on a playoff run with Pittsburgh and helped them win a Cup. He stayed on with the Penguins until the 2012-13 NHL campaign, before spending parts of two seasons with the Wild. He retired from the NHL following the 2014-15 season and finished his career having suited up for 1,046 games between the Canucks, Capitals, Penguins, and Wild. He amassed 167 goals and 231 assists for 398 points and also played in 110 playoff games and tallied 38 points during that span (13 goals and 25 assists).
When thinking of Cooke’s time in the NHL, fans will think of his tenures with the Canucks and Penguins, since he played the most for both. It is easy to not remember that he did wear the Capitals sweater for some games in the 2007-08 season. His impact in D.C. was limited and Washington fans probably dislike him more than like him now considering his long and storied stint in Pittsburgh afterward. However, he was a nice addition by Capitals general manager George McPhee and he played his role well during his brief time in the organization.
