Chris Simon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Position | Left Wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 219 lb (100 kg) |
| NHL Team F. Teams |
New York Islanders Quebec Nordiques Colorado Avalanche Washington Capitals Chicago Blackhawks New York Rangers Calgary Flames |
| Nationality |  Canada |
| Born | January 30, 1972 (age 35), Wawa, ON, CAN |
| NHL Draft | 25th overall, 1990 Philadelphia Flyers |
| Pro Career | 1992 – present |
Chris Simon (born January 30, 1972 in Wawa, Ontario) is a professional ice hockey player. He plays left wing.
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
Simon was drafted in the 2nd round (25th overall) of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers, but was traded as part of the infamous Eric Lindros deal to the Quebec Nordiques before playing any games for the Flyers. He has also played for the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers.
In 1996, he won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche. Each player on the winning team is given 24 hours alone with the Cup. Simon took it to his hometown of Wawa, Ontario. After showing it to the townspeople he and his maternal grandfather took the Cup on a fishing trip.
Simon was a member of the Washington Capitals when they went to the Stanley Cup finals in 1998. He had been enjoying great offensive success that season until a shoulder injury knocked him out for much of the playoff run. He underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in December 1998. He was the team's leading goal scorer in the 1999-2000 season with 29 goals in 75 games. He also made it to the Stanley Cup finals with the Calgary Flames in 2004, and played for the Flames for two seasons before being signed as a free agent in 2006 by the New York Islanders.
He was born to an Ojibwa father, John, and a white Canadian mother, Linda. As a teenager he struggled with an addiction to alcohol but was helped to sobriety by his and the New York Islanders new coach, Ted Nolan, in 1992.
[edit] Mike Grier incident
He was involved in an incident during the 1997-98 NHL season during a game against the Edmonton Oilers, he allegedly addressed forward Mike Grier as a "nigger" to Grier's face in response to comments about his Native heritage. Although the spoken words were never confirmed, he was suspended three games as a result of the incident.
[edit] 2007 suspension - Hollweg Incident
On March 8, 2007, the Islanders faced the rival New York Rangers at Nassau Coliseum. At 13:25 of the third period[1], Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg checked Simon, knocking him face first into the boards. Simon suffered a concussion, no penalty was assessed and play continued.
Seconds later, Simon hit Hollweg in the face with a two-handed swing of his hockey stick.[2] Play was stopped four seconds later, with Simon receiving a match penalty for attempt to injure, resulting in his ejection from the game and a five minute major penalty. The match penalty triggered an automatic investigation by the NHL. Hollweg suffered a cut to the chin that required two stitches[3]. According to ESPN's Barry Melrose, Hollweg escaped serious injury because Simon's blow caught his shoulder pads before hitting his face.
Simon was indefinitely suspended by the NHL on the day after the incident, per NHL rules. On March 11, Simon was suspended for the remaining 15 games of the 2006-07 season, as well as all of the 2007 playoffs. He will serve a minimum suspension of 25 games, continuing into the next season Simon plays, if the Islanders do not play at least 10 playoff games.[4] Colin Campbell, the league's Director of Hockey Operations, said in a statement announcing the suspension, "The National Hockey League will not accept the use of a stick in the manner and fashion in which Mr. Simon used his on Thursday night." Campbell had to travel to New York to conduct his investigation since Islanders doctors had not cleared Simon to travel. The suspension is the longest in terms of games missed in NHL history. The Nassau County district attorney considered filing criminal charges against Simon, but eventually declined. Hollweg told Newsday that he is not interested in pressing charges. [5]
On March 10, Simon issued a statement in which he apologized to Hollweg and the league. He said that he did not remember much about the incident because he was "completely out of it" as a result of the concussion and that there is "absolutely no place in hockey for what I did."[6]
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1988-89 | Ottawa 67's | OHL | 36 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 31 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1989-90 | Ottawa 67's | OHL | 57 | 36 | 38 | 74 | 146 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1990-91 | Ottawa 67's | OHL | 20 | 16 | 6 | 22 | 69 | 17 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 59 | ||
| 1991-92 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||||||||
| 1991-92 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 31 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 143 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 49 | ||
| 1992-93 | Halifax Citadels | AHL | 36 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 131 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1992-93 | Québec Nordiques | NHL | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 67 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | ||
| 1993-94 | Québec Nordiques | NHL | 37 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 132 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1994-95 | Québec Nordiques | NHL | 29 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 106 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 | ||
| 1995-96 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 64 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 250 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | ||
| 1996-97 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 42 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 165 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1997-98 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 28 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 38 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 26 | ||
| 1998-99 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 23 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 48 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1999-00 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 75 | 29 | 20 | 49 | 146 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 24 | ||
| 2000-01 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 60 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 109 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2001-02 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 82 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 137 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2002-03 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 23 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2002-03 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 61 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 125 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2003-04 | New York Rangers | NHL | 65 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 225 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2003-04 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 13 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 25 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 74 | ||
| 2005-06 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 72 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 94 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 2006-07 | New York Islanders | NHL | 67 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 75 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL totals | 692 | 134 | 148 | 282 | 1702 | 73 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 191 | ||||
Stats as of March 9, 2007
[edit] Notes
- ^ NHL.com. NHL On-line Report - New York Rangers at New York Islanders, March 8, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-03-08.
- ^ MSG Network. Simon's Hit to Hollweg - New York Rangers at New York Islanders, March 8, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
- ^ Greg Logan, Steve Zipay. Simon Faces His Fate. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ TSN.ca. Simon suspended for season and playoffs. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
- ^ Newsday.com. Hollweg not interested in prosecuting Simon. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
- ^ Simon releases statement about hit on Hollweg. ESPN.com (2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Categories: 1972 births | Calgary Flames players | Canadian ice hockey players | Chicago Blackhawks players | Colorado Avalanche players | Halifax Citadels players | Stanley Cup champions | New York Islanders players | New York Rangers players | Ottawa 67's alumni | Quebec Nordiques players | Philadelphia Flyers draft picks | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds alumni | Washington Capitals players | Enforcers | Living people
