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Matt Cooke Will Stay With Penguins

Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux may be taking a stand against hits to the head in the NHL, but that doesn't mean that the Pens will part with Matt Cooke, whose hits were already notorious even before his flying elbow felled the Rangers' Ryan McDonagh yesterday.

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However, one prominent member of the organization, speaking in private conversation today, said those who want the Penguins to jettison Cooke immediately will be disappointed, that "we won't do anything just for the public-relations" value.

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That does not mean, the official added, that Cooke's future with the organization won't be revisted after this season, noting that that is standard practice for most players.

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As Jimmy Rixner suggested today, it's going to be tough for the Penguins to continue to both speak out against head shots and employ Cooke, unless they do something like start donating to charity every time Cooke does something dirty.

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Here's video of Cooke's hit against McDonagh.

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Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.