On Wednesday, Wild forward Matt Cooke had a disciplinary hearing with the NHL after his knee-on-knee hit on Avalanche defenceman Tyson Barrie. As a result of the hit, Colorado has lost its top offensive defenseman for 4 to 6 weeks with an MCL injury. The CBA sets out the procedure for supplementary discipline. Its found at Article 18 of the CBA and is called "Supplementary Discipline For On-Ice Conduct". Article 18.2 of the CBA provides a list of the factors the league will consider when determining supplementary discipline. They are as follows: (a) The type of conduct involved: conduct outside of NHL rules; excessive force in contact otherwise permitted by NHL rules; and careless or accidental conduct. Players are responsible for the consequences of their actions. (b) Injury to the opposing Player(s) involved in the incident. (c) The status of the offender and, specifically, whether the Player has a history of being subject to Supplementary Discipline for On-Ice Conduct. Players who repeatedly violate League Playing Rules will be more severely punished for each new violation. (d) The situation of the game in which the incident occurred: late in the game, lopsided score, prior events in the game. (e) Such other factors as may be appropriate in the circumstances. So the league will look at all these factors when determining the length of Cookes suspension. One factor that will be the focus will be Article 18.2(c) – Cookes history of violating league rules. To say the least, Cooke has quite the NHL rap sheet. Since 2009, hes been suspended a total of 25 games for hits on Scott Walker, Artem Anisimov, Fedor Tyutin and Ryan McDonagh. Hes also injured other guys with reckless hits, like Sam Gagner, Valeri Nichushkin, Adam McQuaid, Alex Ovechkin, Steve Montador, Evander Kane, Keith Yandle, Erik Karlsson and Rick DiPietro. And of course he ended Marc Savards career. By the way, the bolded language at 18.(c) is not my doing; the NHL CBA has it bolded so you know its important. The talk about being a repeat offender doesnt apply to the length of the suspension. A repeat offender refers to someone that commits a violation of the league rules within 18 months of another violation. A player that was a repeat offender could get a tougher punishment. Under the old 2005 CBA, repeat offenders were treated more harshly as far as length of a suspension goes. However, the new CBA has some changes in it, including doing away with the repeat offender consideration when assessing length of a suspension (its still around when dealing with suspension compensation – see Article 18.5). Presumably, the NHLPA and NHL were in agreement that the "repeat offender" provision did not capture players who spaced out their transgressions by more than 18 months but were still a threat to player health and safety. On that basis, they agreed to amend the CBA. You have to wonder if this change should be dedicated to Raffi Torres and Matt Cooke as they were likely part of the inspiration for the amendment. As far as length of Cookes suspension, its tough to know since past suspensions have not always been predictable. That being said, given Cookes history of violence, a suspension of at least 15 games would not be a surprise. Frankly, it could easily be more given the reckless and dangerous manner in which he plays the game. Indeed, he may get a high suspension given that Cooke Fatigue has undoubtedly set in. Custom Boston Red Sox Nike Jerseys . The South Africa international, who rejoined the club last month on loan from Tottenham, opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a powerful shot into the roof of the net. Custom Detroit Tigers Nike Jerseys . -- EJ Manuel followed the worst game of his career with the best. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/ . And fellow Leaf, Jake Gardiner, hiking in Whistler. Custom Los Angeles Dodgers Nike Jerseys . -- Theres something about playing on Orlandos floor lately that seems to bring out the best in the Dallas Mavericks. Custom Atlanta Braves Nike Jerseys . Sterling was banned for life and fined US$2.5 million by the NBA on Tuesday for racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. Nash, who plays for the rival L.A. Lakers, spoke as a representative of current NBA players at a press conference assembled by Sacramento mayor and National Basketball Players Association adviser Kevin Johnson.The Indiana Pacers continue at the top of the TSN.ca NBA Power Rankings, a spot they havent relinquished since the start of the regular season. Just behind Indiana, the Oklahoma City Thunder, Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers. Moving up this week, the San Antonio Spurs won three straight and, getting a few bodies back from injury, moved from 10 to seven. Further down the list, the Orlando Magic are healthy and went 2-2 last week, which was enough to vault from 29 to 24. Sometimes it doesnt take a lot to move among the bottom-tier teams. Heading the other way, the Los Angeles Cliippers lost three of four and shooting guard J.ddddddddddddJ. Redick is hurt again, so they fall from seven to 10, effectively flipping spots with the Spurs. The Memphis Grizzlies sunk from 12 to 17 after back-to-back losses and, more importantly, an injury to point guard Mike Conley. The Toronto Raptors split their four games last week, but it was enough to hold their ninth-place ranking. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '