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Mike Milbury’s Hat Trick: Analyzing the Fisher trade, Cooke’s punishment

Mike Milbury

Each week here at ProHockeyTalk, NHL on NBC’s Mike Milbury gives us his take on three hot topics of discussion around the league. We’re happy to have Mike join us and give us his unique and fiery opinions on what’s going on in the NHL.

1. Ottawa trades Mike Fisher to Nashville for a first round pick and a conditional third. What’s your take on this deal?

Well, I know that Nashville and the league will just love it. Carrie Underwood singing the National Anthem sounds good to me.

He’s a good player that’s fallen on a bit of hard times kind of like everyone else in Ottawa. It’s a pretty good payback price but not that big. A first round pick from Nashville is, what, bottom ten of the round? I think they’ve got a team that they believe in and he fits in well and I think it’s a good deal for Nashville.

It’s part of a cleaning out process in Ottawa, at least it appears that way to me. In my estimation Ottawa is preparing to tear it down and build it again. If they can trade Jason Spezza and get that whole bunch of assets and then he can go play a secondary role on a good team.

75494_senators_predators_trade_hockey
2. Is that first round pick isn’t too steep of a price to pay for Fisher?

No, Fisher’s signed for a couple of years. They’re getting a solid player who had a hell of a year last season. I don’t know what’s going on with him this year, the whole thing has fallen apart in Ottawa but the question is whether he’ll be able to bounce back. He’s got one of the best coaches in the NHL in Barry Trotz and I think he’ll fix what ails Fisher.

It’s a good move by the Predators and it’s a start for Bryan Murray and the Ottawa Senators and he’ll keep airing out the dirty laundry.

The move for Nashville is to fill a void up the middle for themselves. They haven’t been particularly strong up the middle this year so it’s a solid move there. It clearly sends a good message to the locker room that they’re looking to do some damage in the playoffs this year. They’re feeling good about themselves and as well they should.

3. Matt Cooke getting four games for the hit from behind on Fedor Tyutin - was the punishment strong enough?

Columbus Blue Jackets v Pittsburgh Penguins

PITTSBURGH, PA - FEBRUARY 8: Matt Cooke #24 of the Pittsburgh Penguins checks Fedor Tyutin #51 of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first period on February 8, 2011 at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Cooke was assessed a five-minute major penalty for charging on the play. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Matt Cooke ;Fedor Tyutin

Jamie Sabau

I think the punishment was stiff enough but I think he got away with the incident in Washington [knee-on-knee hit on Alex Ovechkin]. He’s worthy of the term “dirty player” and all of its negative connotations now.

After the hit on Savard you’d think there’d be some remorse or some refinement to his game but he continues to be totally disrespectful and reckless in his play. The league got him with this one, he jumped up a little bit and left his feet and hit Tyutin. Tyutin wasn’t hurt but I think he could’ve completely avoided the hit. But he didn’t and he chose not to. I think he had enough time to make a decision.

It wasn’t head contact or it wasn’t shoulder-to-head or anything of that nature but it was certainly blindside. I think it was the appropriate punishment and the league is clearly on top of all these things and by in large more aggressive with their penalties.