New York Islanders Chris Simon Suspended

If you see this man...RUN THE OTHER WAY! (Getty Images)

NHL Bad Boy Trips Pittsburgh Penguins' Jarkko Ruutu

By Michelle Kenneth December 17th, 2007 - 07:08 pm PT

Today, the New York Islanders announced that Chris Simon will be taking a leave of absence from the NHL to seek professional help after he swept the feet out from underneath Pittsburgh Penguins' Jarkko Ruutu as he attempted to head to the bench, and then stomped on the back of his leg.

For those who know about Chris Simon's past, this is nothing new. The 35-year old has served a total of six suspensions in his career already. Simon spent the first five games of the season serving out the remainder of his 25-game suspension, one of the league's longest suspensions in history. He's only been back on the ice for two months and is now facing another potential suspension when the league's disciplinarian, Colin Campbell, reviews the infraction against Ruutu.

During the 2006 Winter Olympics Ruutu hit on Czech Republic's hero, Jaromir Jagr (a New York Ranger), which pushed Jagr's head between the boards and the glass, slicing it open. Ruutu was ejected from the game.

What Simon did was inexcusable. There is no need to deliberately injure an opponent, especially when your team is losing 3-2. Charles Wang, team owner of the New York Islanders, offered the following statement: "The Islanders are going to provide some time for Chris away from the team and give him the counseling he needs."

Simon issued an apology: "There is no excuse for my actions on Saturday night and I apologize to everyone involved."

In 1997, Simon received a three-game ban after directing a racial slur toward Mike Grier, who is black. During the 2000 playoffs, Simon was forced to sit out Game 2 after he cross-checked Peter Popovic across the throat in the opener. In April 2001, he received a two-game ban for elbowing Anders Eriksson. In 2004, he was issued a couple of two-game suspensions. The first was for cross-checking Ruslan Fedotenko, jumping on him and punching him (Fedotenko is now his teammate on the NY Islanders). The second offense came when he kneed Sergei Zubov.

Considering Simon has only been able to play for two months in the NHL since his last infraction, a life-long ban should be taken into consideration. To view a couple of Simon's past nasty deeds: Chris Simon's Stomp on Jarkko Ruutu
Chris Simon Cheapshot on Ryan Hollweg

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Comments

 
Posted 17/12/2007 at 7:24pm Luyen Dao

It's quite obvious that Chris Simon has some serious anger problems - and we can all testify from personal experience, that it's not an easy thing to overcome - when you're on the ice and things happen real fast, those emotions can take over very quickly.

I have no doubt, he's extremely remorseful - but who knows what other demons he might be battling with, and he's not the first NHL'er or athelete to go a bit psycho when emotions run high (i.e. Bertuzzi, Fleury, McSorley) not to mention all the other ones who have gotten away with dirty hits...

No, i don't think this is related to whether or not Chris Simon is smart or stupid, but rather to how well he's been able to handle his problems.

Posted 17/12/2007 at 7:45pm Michelle Kenneth

I truly do not believe any counseling will benefit how he reacts on the ice this late in the game. It is evident that he does have anger issues and he could benefit from counseling in his own personal life...but he is 35 years old and on his way out of the NHL, so counseling as a player will do nothing for him. Seriously, what can counseling do in a short amount of time?

I find it very stupid of Simon to do what he did on the ice to Ruutu. I've watched the footage a few times already and the only thing that crosses my mind when I see it is asking Chris Simon, "Why in the world would you do that??? Especially, when you've just returned after a 25-game suspension???"

To me, I am in more disbelief than anything else. They were both on their way off the ice. Just watching the whole thing, Simon wasn't even looking at Ruutu when he did it. He tried to be dirty and sneaky about it, but it was completely caught on camera.

That moment was not heated like in the past. There is a difference in this situation. It was a stupid move on his part. It wasn't like his reaction to Hollweg (which was more severe).

Posted 17/12/2007 at 8:01pm Luyen Dao

It was definitely a very disgusting move on his part, i've had the misfortune of watching it a few times - and it's just beyond words - and yes you're right counseling for him means stepping away from the game for a long long time... - and i'm not talking about hockey counseling, more like personal, psychological counseling...

I hope for his sake, he can come to terms with the root causes of his actions - i think in sports there's often that idea that if you've had success, then whatever the means are okay - no matter how vicious.

Posted 17/12/2007 at 8:50pm Michelle Kenneth

Yes, I totally agree.

I almost wonder if sending him to the minors would humble him a little.

Posted 19/12/2007 at 2:53pm David Nuck

He should quit the NHL...what has he got to offer anymore??????
Maybe he should look into UFC fighting.


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