All Sport Report

There it was - a big, clean hit into the boards from Ryan Hollweg that made Chris Simon of the Islanders go beyond the point of just losing composure. For the vicious attack the league has handed Simon a twenty-five game suspension, which is the longest suspension in terms of games that has ever been handed down by NHL officials.

Simon, who’s made a career out of the “enforcer” role, hurt more than just Hollweg with his boneheaded move. The Islanders are currently in seventh place in the Eastern Conference fighting to stay in a playoff position, the Maple Leafs, Rangers and Canadiens are just a few points out of contention. The Isles have fifteen games left in the regular season, this disruption in the roster may be enough for one of those teams to squeeze their way in and leave the Isles out in the cold.

The hit also marred Simon’s reputation, he was always a goon on the ice, but over the last two or three seasons he’s actually showed a little bit of hockey ability that didn’t involve the use of fists. He had become an integral part of the Islanders team but Chris Simon will probably never recover from this incident, just ask Todd Bertuzzi or Marty McSorley.

Both McSorely and Bertuzzi were charged criminally for their violent on ice attacks, and I expect prosecutors to go after Simon as well. Chris Simon may not only miss the remainder of this season as a result of this ill advised act, he could spend time in jail and it may very well end his hockey career.

In a statement Simon alluded to the fact that he was “out of it” following the big hit from Hollweg, he said it wasn’t an excuse for his actions, but that he actually had to view the tape of the incident to recall all of the details.

It’s obvious that Simon is aggresive on the ice, he’s been suspended four times before for on ice violence, but I don’t buy that this incident occured as a result of Simon being knocked loopy from the check. I think he got hit hard, he was pissed-off and he let his emotions get out of control.

I have no problem with guys going out and playing their respective sports with the utmost of passion, but if a guy lays a clean hit on you, you get up dust yourself off, skate over to him like a gentleman and ask if he’d like to drop the gloves. You show who’s the better man by going toe to toe in a fair fight, you most certainly don’t try to decapitate him with your stick. If Chris Simon doesn’t understand this after fourteen years of professional hockey, or if his emotions can get that far out of control, then he has no place being on the ice.

All things considered, if Chris Simon gets out of this situation with nothing more than his career ending, he should consider himself lucky. If his stick landed a few inches higher or an inch or two lower, and the damage to Hollweg was more extensive than a few stitches, Simon may have found himself encountering something much more severe than the assault charges he’ll likely face once the season is over.

Chris Simon, Islanders, Rangers, Ryan Hollweg, cheap shot