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Minnesota columnist: ‘Cooke is a cheap-shot artist’

Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Islanders - Game Three

UNIONDALE, NY - MAY 05: Matt Cooke #24 of the Pittsburgh Penguins argues a call in the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on May 5, 2013 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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Wild fans are a bit restless these days.

Minnesota lost longtime forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard to the Islanders in free agency and shipped out Devin Setoguchi to Winnipeg, they’ve also added noted controversy lightning rod Matt Cooke to a three-year deal.

The latter move doesn’t exactly sit well with one Minnesota columnist.

Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune laced into the Wild for signing Cooke and comparing him to former goon Chris Simon. One excerpt from his column is particularly pointed.

Cooke is a cheap-shot artist. He is a dirty player. He’s a better player than Simon was, and he’s better than [Zenon] Konopka, and he might be better than the outgoing Cal Clutterbuck, but the acquisition hints of desperation. To quell fan backlash, Cooke will have to play well enough to allow Fletcher to quote the proverb, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” which, translated into hockey talk, is “Crosschecking someone from Vancouver is better than crosschecking someone for Vancouver.”

So much for “Minnesota nice.”

For what it’s worth, Wild GM Chuck Fletcher defended the signing saying Cooke has “really evolved” having not been suspended for the past two seasons. That’s not doing much to calm down the fans who may have been hoping a different move was on the way.