Matt Cooke signs with Pittsburgh

From Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The Penguins have agreed to a two-year contract with free-agent forward Matt Cooke.

The deal is worth $1.2 million per season.

Cooke, who will be 30 on Sept. 7, is 5 foot 11, 205 pounds and is an accomplished agitator and penalty-killer.

Read the entire story here.

Good signing by the Penguins. As the article states, Cooke is a very suitable replacement for the recently departed Jarkko Ruutu. While he may not be quite as annoying as the man he is replacing, he is certainly close.

Matt Cooke done in Washington

From Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post:

Left wing Matt Cooke, as expected, will not be returning to Washington. The signing of Matt Bradley made Cooke expendable/redundant. "Obviously, Matt Bradley has been with us longer and was committed to us," McPhee said. "You can't keep everybody."

Read more from Capitals Insider here.

Cooke was a solid addition to the Caps' roster at the trade deadline but the qualities he brings to the table--energy, physical play and speed have been deemed replaceable by the Caps management. I'm sure Cooke will catch on in a third/fourth line role with another squad.

NHL Morning Papers: Playoff Teams (Monday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for the Eastern Conference playoff match ups:

Montreal versus Boston:

• With last night's overtime winner, Marc Savard turned the Bruins/Habs match up into a series, writes Pat Hickey. The Habs have now been outplayed in back-to-back games, writes Jack Todd. If the Habs get into must-win territory later in this series, expect Saku Koivu to try and suit up.
• With a delayed penalty being called, Peter Schaefer admitted that he had a chance to try a move he usually wouldn't and that move led to the game-winning goal. Marc Savard grew up in Ottawa with his dad always watching Habs games, so last night's goal was that much more special. Tim Thomas stole the show in overtime last night, writes Fluto Shinwaza.

Pittsburgh versus Ottawa:

• The Penguins are not going to take their 2-0 series lead for granted. The Penguins' goal is to take the Ottawa crowd out of the game early on, writes Dave Molinari. The Penguins wouldn't be surprised if Daniel Alfredsson returned for the Senators tonight.
• Jason Spezza has a leg injury but he is still expected to suit up tonight, writes Bruce Garrioch. As if the Penguins did not have enough motivation to beat the Senators, the Scotiabank Place has provided them with more motivation. Chris Kelly (foot) is about a week away from returning.

Washington versus Philadelphia:

• The Capitals were outworked last night, writes Mike Wise. "He made some good saves; he stopped me in the first, and he stopped in the third," said Capitals winger Matt Cooke about Flyers netminder Martin Biron. Alexander Ovechkin played over 26 minutes in Sunday afternoon's game.
• The game plan did not change very much, just the execution of the Flyers did, writes Sam Donnellon. Martin Biron pitched a shutout and then had a child soon after, writes Rich Hofmann. The games won't be any easier at home, warns Kimmo Timonen.

New Jersey versus New York Rangers:

• It is a good thing that John Madden watches television, writes Rich Chere. All three games have now been won by the road team. Martin Brodeur dislikes Sean Avery and his tactics.
• The Rangers are not going to let last night's tough bounce deflate them, writes Jay Greenberg. The Devils have finally joined the first round battle, writes Larry Brooks. Scott Gomez says Game 4 is the time for the Rangers to respond.

The morning papers for the Western Conference playoff match ups are soon to follow...

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com