Updated: Chris Simon suspended 25 games

Re: Initial report: Chris Simon suspended 22 games

And that's where the NHL gets it all wrong. It needs to punish the action, not the result. What's a guy have to do to get the boot, actually decapitate someone? Seriously, Simon's hit was the worst thing I've seein -- worse than McSorley, worse than Bertuzzi.

 

Re: Initial report: Chris Simon suspended 22 games

Absolutely no way.

Bertuzzi's hit was from behind, and Moore was knocked out and suffered lasting injuries. McSorley's was almost like a baseball swing, from the side. Simon came straight at Hollweg after Hollweg's check, giving Hollweg a chance to at least steel himself for retaliation. (I'll bet he didn't expect that kind of retaliation, though.)

I'm not saying Simon's hit wasn't bad or stupid, but Hollweg, fortunately, wasn't seriously injured.

 

Re: Initial report: Chris Simon suspended 22 games

No way in hell that Simon's hit was worse than Bertuzzi's. None whatsoever. Bertuzzi' STALKED Moore for a good period of time before attempting to break his neck. Bertuzzi's action was thought-out, intentional, deliberate. Simon's was reactionary (and perhaps clouded by a concussion -- no excuse however).

To say what you said above indicates that you either have never seen the Bertuzzi hit or are just completely ignorant.

 

ESPN says minimum 25 games, including this postseason, would go into next season.

TSN also reporting it (they, by the way, have proven to be much better than NHL.com on everything hockey).
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=199699&hubname=

 

It needs to be one calendar year, at least. Someone mentioned life with the chance at reinstatement, and that's not out of the question either.

Simon was what, three or four inches away from crushing the guys windpipe?

I'd like to see hockey get back to the forefront, because it's a great sport to see live. But you can't keep having players criminally assaulting each other with malice every 18 months. Not so good on the image, y'know?

 

25 games is an extremely light sentence for Simon considering he was using his stick as a deadly weapon and in the real world, that's an assault leading to a visit with Bubba. Simon should have been suspended all of the 06-07 regular season, all of this year's playoffs, and the first 25 games of the 07-08 season.

I'm not a fan of Hollweg's style of play but players can't be given these ridiculously light punishments and not expect another heinous act to occur again. As usual, Colin Campbell blows his perfect opportunity to show the sporting world that hockey is serious about ridding itself of criminal violence.

 

In Saturday's NY Daily News, Colin Campbell said he didn't think he needed to make an example out of Simon.

Sooner or later, someone's going to die on the ice if the dirty checks and stickwork is allowed to go on. This season, Sidney Crosby has been speared, slashed, crosschecked, high-sticked and generally maimed game in and game out. Mercifully for the Penguins and The League, he hasn't suffered a debilitating injury. But if the players who specialize in dirty hockey aren't made an example of, Crosby or another player will be hurt-for-life or die.

I think that Campbell's reasoning for Simon's suspension was that Hollweg only needed stitches and the Rangers' winger's assertion that the incident was "over.''

 

Colin Campbell was a horse-shit head coach in New York and as a player, the NHL needs to have more guys who understand the core of the game instead of hacks and goons like Campbell.

 

MacLean and Cherry talked about the game possibly becoming too violent last night, comparing it to last season where there wasn't much hitting and fighting. Both said that there's a place for fighting in the NHL, new rules or not.

 

It has been said already within this thread but I've seen worse, much worse, through the (recent) years in the NHL and this penalty was just too much. Freelance is right, that hit was definitely reactionary, not like Bertuzzi (or even McSorley) where it was thought upon.

 

OK. I'm back.

I'm not going to argue about which was the worst of three of the worst moments in recent NHL history. They were all bad. I will say this about some of the "reactionary" arguments: If that's how a dude's going to "react" to a hard, legal check into the boards, then he shouldn't be playing. Period.

Hit him back. Throw down the gloves. Fine.

I'm still very curious about what the reaction on this thread would have been had that stick landed a few inches higher (a lost eye or two, perhaps) or an inch lower (crushed windpipe, maybe).