The Isles finished a home and home against the rival Rangers with a bang; well sort of. After a 57 shot output by the Rangers on Monday night, the Islanders gameplan switched up a bit. In was Captain Alexei Yashin and out was Richard Zednick. That gamplan seemed to work out pretty well, until that third period incident that both Islanders and Ranger fans will be talking about for years to come.
Rangers pesty forward Ryan Hollweg plastered teh Islanders Chris Simon into hte borads face first which dazed Simon initially. But Simon took offense and laid a two handed chop with his stick into Hollweg's face.
Hollweg's hit on Simon is a debateable late hit/dirty hit. The fact that Simon did not have the puck at the time indicates this. But Simon's response to this hit is not debateable at all. His two handed chop at Hollweg's face was uncalled for.
On the play, Simon recieved a match penalty for attempting to injure. The penalty come with an automatic 5 minute major, as well as a ticket to the showers. Rangers coach Tom Renney won't even have to send a tape of this incident to the league. The league has already requested video of this incident. Chris Simon will be suspended, thats for sure. I personally, see nothing les than 10 games for this.
An incident of this magnitude is a black eye for the NHL as well as Hockey in general. The media already depicts the sport as barbaric and fighting in general has been a target of the medai as well as NHL Comissioner Gary Bettman.
Both Chris Simon, Ryan Hollweg and Rangers coach Tom Renney have declined to comment on this matter as I write this.
We will continue to follow this story as more becomes available.
If you would like to comment on this incident, please visit our Forum. If you're already a forum member you can go directly to this thread.
-This article was last updated on Mar 08, 2007 at 2:03 AM
Chris Simon has been suspended indefinitely by the NHL pending a hearing by the board of goveners, which will take place Saturday March 10.
Taken from Newsday 3/9/07: “I’ve always been known as a clean guy and I just feel bad for letting my team down,” Simon said. “I just don’t really want to say anything about the incident right now because I have to talk with the league first.”
The Simon incident has garnered so much press that it was only a matter of time before someone uttered the words "crimal case." It seems as if those words have been thrown around. Check out this link. Speaking of criminal cases, I forgot to mention that this unfortunate event happened exactly three years after the now infamous Todd Bertuzzi cheapshot on Steve Moore. Moore allegedly hit the Canucks Marcus Naslund, and Canucks forward [and ex Islander] Todd Bertuzzi skated up behind Moore and suckerpunched him in hte head, knocking him unconscious. If that wasn't enough, Bertuzzi fell on top of him and continued to wail away on Moore while he was out. Moore suffered a career ending spinal injury and to this day has not stepped on the ice. Criminal charges were brought up on Bertuzzi as he pleaded guilty to bodily harm. Bertuzzi was suspended for approximately 17 months. Betruzzi has since been reinstated by the NHL and has recently been traded from the Florida Panthers.
Greg Logan's blog staes that Simon has been diagnosed with a concussion and cannot attend a hearing because he cannot fly. The concussion was induced by the hit from Hollweg. It should be noted that Hollweg is fine and will play in the Rangers next game Saturday against Pittsburgh.
Heres a clip that ESPN put together on some of the leagues worst incidents in the past few years.
-This article was last updated on Mar 10, 2007 at 3:20 AM
The following statement has been released by the New York Islanders from Chris Simon:
After watching the tape the morning after Thursday's game, I was disgusted. There is absolutely no place in hockey for what I did.
I want to apologize to Ryan Hollweg. I was grateful to learn that Ryan is okay and that he returned to the game. My hope is to reach out to him in the near future.
I want to apologize to my team and Islanders fans everywhere. My actions Thursday night played a major part in our team losing a crucial game. I also want to apologize to the National Hockey League for the damage I have caused this great game of ours.
What you saw Thursday is not the person, player and competitor that I am. I know my teammates and opponents over my 14 years in the NHL understand that.
I do not remember much about Thursday's incident. When I saw the tape on Friday morning, it explained a lot to me when I saw the look on my face after being hit into the boards. I was completely out of it. When I met with the media about 30 minutes later, I still was not feeling well.
I met with our medical staff briefly Thursday night and underwent a series of tests on Friday afternoon. They have told me that I suffered a concussion when I hit the boards. Because I was not cleared by our doctors to travel, I would like to thank Colin Campbell for traveling to New York for today's hearing.
I need to make clear that this is not justification for the danger I put Ryan Hollweg in and the damage I have caused the game. I understand disciplinary action will be taken.
Since Ryan is thankfully okay, what hurts the most is knowing my actions will result in me losing the privilege of being in the Islanders lineup.
Finally, I want to thank my Islanders teammates for their support throughout this process. It means everything to me.
NEW YORK - New York Islanders forward Chris Simon has been suspended, for the remainder of the 2006-07 regular season and the entirety of the Stanley Cup playoffs, for deliberately using his stick to injure New York Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg during the third period of Thursday night's game at Nassau Veterans' Memorial Coliseum.
Simon is suspended a minimum of 25 games, including Saturday night's game against Washington plus the 14 that remain in the 2006-07 regular season. If the Islanders do not qualify for the 2007 playoffs, or play fewer than 10 playoff games in the 2007 playoffs, Simon would serve additional games at the start of the 2007-08 regular season to satisfy the minimum term of 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 Thursday night," said Colin Campbell, NHL Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations. "As a consequence of his actions, Mr. Simon has forfeited the privilege of playing in an NHL game again this season, regardless of how many games the Islanders ultimately play."
Based on his $1-million contract, which expires at the conclusion of the 2006-07 season, Simon forfeits a minimum of $80,213.90. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
The incident occurred at 13:29 of the third period. After receiving a hard check from Hollweg, Simon swung his stick and delivered a two-handed blow to Hollweg's upper body, causing a cut on Hollweg's chin. Simon was assessed a Match penalty.
*The preceeding article was taken from Hockeyfights.com where they have numerous articles about the Simon incident on thier news page.
Other articles of note:
-This article was last updated on Mar 13, 2007 at 3:03 AM