His teammates also started to hate him because they would be stuck cleaning up his messes.
If i remember correctly i believe Ohlund got beat up for having to try and stick up for that clown and within a week he was traded for Pettinger as this had happened far too many times and the Canucks had enough.
Cooke was a rat. No other way to sugar coat it. It's fair to say he had to be physical to be effective at his job but like anything in life your actions come with consequences.
When you start pounding the other teams best players and don't answer for it the opposition is gonna get its pound of flesh. If that's a detriment to your teammates then you're not picking your spots correctly and doing a disservice.
FuXX Matt Cooke he couldn't figure that out or didn't care. He left a lot of teammates and opposition players hurt because of it and made a living targeting the stars and the reasons fans came to watch. No respect for the way he conducted himself.
Edit: MS beat me too it i see....yes Iginla that's right. i disagree about people not noticing how dirty he was. Me and my buddies couldn't stand that POS and that's saying a lot considering were Canuck fans. It wasn't overnight for us but sure once the media gets a narrative it's probably hard to turn back on that for some fans
My recollection was in his first few yrs he was a good energy player at top speed and effort that could contribute. As things wore on he started struggling as his skills were sub standard for a top9 player so he adapted his game to an agitator role which is fine to keep a 3rd line job but he crossed the line a lot and seldom answered for it which left a trail of waste in his path. He wore out his welcome here and i hated when Larscheid made that claim.