Simon Should Be Kicked Out

Before I start going on about the NHL, let me inform you of my hockey qualifications. While never good enough for the real thing, I have played countless street hockey games with bruises lasting a week. I have been watching hockey for over half my life. I started watching at age 12 and haven’t been able to stop (would have watched sooner if I could). My favorite teams are the Philadelphia Flyers and the Dallas Stars. John LeClair is my favorite player all time. I know that LeFleur means “the flower.” I live in the Kansas City metro, and I hope the Nashville Predators move here when they default on their lease in their current arena. OK, now that’s out of the way… Chris Simon should be kicked out of the NHL.

doombob.com    

It sounds like something out of Happy Gilmore. For those who aren’t addicted to Google News like me, Chris Simon, a left wing for the New York Islander was suspended 30 games after stomping on The Pittsburgh Penguins Jarkko Ruutu’s leg/foot. For those keeping track, Simon now holds the two longest NHL suspensions (30 and 25 games) in history over his 15 years in the NHL. But wait, there’s more: both incidents occurred in 2007! He’s now had a total of eight suspensions.

My “hockey friends” and I used to discuss various aspects of the game, including who was the dirtiest player on the ice. Simon was the first to come to my mind. They guy has allegedly used racial slurs to harass players. He has attacked numerous players with his hockey stick. With a known substance abuse history, he still comes back to play this game with no regard for anyone’s welfare. He’s called “an enforcer” in hockey terms. His job is to check the best scorer on the opponent’s team as many times as possible. There are many players who have this in their job description, but I think that Chris Simon may be the only sociopath doing this.

Simon is one of the best fighters in the league - on ice fighting is an acceptable, and NHL permissible action. To cheap shot someone is not. To those players who are defending him in one way or another, or say that those on the receiving end deserved it, you may get what’s coming to you, let’s just hope you’re not playing Chris Simon the next time he decides to snap.