While it wasn't the lifetime ban some had called for, the NHL showed some balls (for once) and handed out a 30-game suspension to Chris Simon for his stomp on Pittsburgh's Jarkko Ruutu. This was after Simon was handed a 25-game suspension last season for chopping Ryan Hollweg like a tree.
"Several factors were considered in imposing the longest suspension in NHL history for an on-ice incident," league disciplinarian Colin Campbell said. "While it was fortunate there was no serious injury to Mr. Ruutu as a result of Simon's action, the deliberate act of kicking an opponent with an exposed skate blade, especially where the opponent is in a vulnerable position, is and always has been a repugnant and totally unacceptable act in the game of hockey."
The only problem I have with the suspension is that Chris Simon could be back with the Islanders for the playoffs, should they make it, and should they accept him back. If the league really wanted to punish Simon, they would have put the guy on ice for the entire season and playoffs, and then let the man beg and plead to return to the ice NEXT season.
And what is this talk about 'compassion' from Islanders coach Ted Nolan? Why should we compassionate to a man who has clearly demonstrated a history of violent activity? Chris Simon is a thug, not a misunderstood victim. If anything, Simon needs to be scolded instead of coddled by the Isles organization.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-19-2007 @ 2:33PM
Huh? said...
Ted Nolan has been friends with Simon since Simon was in the juniors. Real Sports did a feature on Nolan a while back and in it they show Nolan and Simon together a while ago. Nolan wouldn't do this for anyone. Just his old pal. Although they fit well together they are both jackasses
Reply
12-19-2007 @ 2:47PM
AT said...
I remember when apologists, after his last suspension, were saying this punk is "not a dirty player". They included Wayne Gretzky. There has to be an about-face of this player's code, or they will forever deny there's a problem.
Reply
12-19-2007 @ 3:47PM
Joe said...
This is stupid. A 30 game suspension is not "showing some balls", its another example of the NHL's inability to police itself, both on the ice, and from the league office. The idea behind a suspension is that it should make the player think "oh man, I don't want that to happen again" when he next finds himself in a situation where he can stomp on someone's foot, try to knock someone's head off with a stick, or whatever else. A 25 game suspension OBVIOUSLY did nothing to get a message across to Chris Simon. Neither did 6 previous token suspensions. The man quite obviously is running around out there with no respect for the health and wellbeing of other players. Previous punishments have had no discernible impact on Chris Simon. The only option is an even harsher punishment. 5 more games than he got last time is not a much harsher punishment, and considering his history, he really doesn't deserve even the slightest benefit of the doubt.
I was hoping for a duration of the 2007-08 season suspension, or at least a 41 gamer (half a season), but this is just a joke.
Reply
12-19-2007 @ 5:53PM
terpsez11 said...
who cares?..in Bettman's league all that matters is Bettman
Reply
12-19-2007 @ 8:22PM
Gern Wormstead said...
That guy is a drunken, out of control animal. They should kick him out of the league. I've got no problem with enforcers and fighting in hockey, but you've got to be a man and square off face to face with a guy. Otherwise you're just a coward and a danger to the game, and the league is better off without you.
Reply
12-20-2007 @ 10:39AM
Stu said...
And yet Sako Koivu doesn't get suspended for his crosscheck to the head. Go ahead tell me again how the league doesn't favor certain player or certain teams.
The NHL is a joke and they are destroying the game.
Reply