Matt Cooke

'07-08 Stats                      Age (on October 1): 30                  Contract: UFA

'07-08 Season Report

The trade to bring Cooke to D.C. proved a masterful stroke of George McPhee's. Since his acquisition, fan favorite Quintin Laing was a healthy scratch. Though Laing's shot blocking abilities endeared him to fans, he was highly ineffective in the offensive zone.

Cooke proved to be a significant upgrade in that area and added some timely goals along the way. In the playoffs, however, he missed some unbelievable scoring chances and made a couple key mistakes. He was one of three Caps forwards (along with Boyd Gordon and Tomas Fleischmann) to go without a point in the postseason.

He played a significant role on the penalty kill, ranking 4th among Cap forwards in PK ice time. He also finished second on the team in hits during the playoffs with 22 (10 behind Alex Ovechkin.) But the Capitals would have certainly benefited if he could have contributed a bit on the scoresheet.

Intangibles

Cooke was credited with being key in the Capitals' late season surge. He got up and told the team of Edmonton's run a couple years back when they overtook his Vancouver Canucks.

"You're not out of it until mathematically you're out of it," Cooke said. "I had a meeting with the guys in here, and just said, 'I was part of a team in Vancouver [two seasons ago] that Edmonton won eight out of their last nine games and beat us by one point to get into the playoffs and they ended up going to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals versus Carolina. Anything can happen.'"

The Capitals lost only one game after that and reached the playoffs on the final day of the season. Was Cooke integral in that run? You bet he was.

Future Fit

As an unrestricted free agent, Cooke is free to sign anywhere. He has publicly stated that he loved his experience in Washington and is probably leaning towards staying. But McPhee is probably in the driver's seat in terms of reaching a deal. 

With Matt Bradley signing a brand new deal, Cooke is now a bit more expendable than he was before. Chris Clark's health and Chris Bourque's NHL readiness may also play a major role in the decision to keep Cooke in D.C.