Christopher J. Simon is a former professional Canadian hockey player who played as a left-handed hitter. Chris spent 20 seasons on ice: 15 in the National Hockey League and 5 in the Continental. The last time he played for Metallurg (Novokuznetsk) in the KHL. An interesting fact is that during his career in the NHL, Simon's fines for disciplinary reasons totaled 65 games.
Gaming career
Chris Simon is a hockey player who was born on January 30, 1972 in Wawa, Ontario. There he began to play in the league for beginners of his age category. He later moved to Bantam, where he began to play professional hockey. He was later selected in the 3rd round (42nd overall) in the AHL in 1988 at the Ottawa Sixties Sevens.
Chris Simon, whose biography is rich in performances at various clubs, was selected in the 2nd round (25th overall) in 1990 at the NHL draft Philadelphia Flyers, but was sold as part of an exchange for Lindros at Nordics Quebec, not playing a single ira for the “pilots”. He also played for Calgary, Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, where he alternately acted as a left and right flank striker. He also went on the ice in matches for the New York Islanders and Minnesota Wilde.
In 1996, he won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche. Each player of the winning team receives 24 hours to be 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 for fishing.
Chris Simon was a Washington Capitals player when the club reached the Stanley Cup finals in 1998. He enjoyed great success in the NHL, but a shoulder injury did not allow him to spend much time in the playoffs. The shoulder operation was performed in December 1998, after which he already in the next season became the team's top scorer in 1999-2000 with 29 goals in 75 games. He also played in the Stanley Cup final for Calgary in 2004. Simon later signed as a free agent in 2006 with the New York Islanders. The player was then sold to the Minnesota Wild.
Fines
Simon has been involved in numerous incidents on the ice. 8 times he received lengthy disqualifications for several matches. As a result, in total, over the course of his career in the NHL, he accumulated 65 pure penalty games.
The Mike Greer Incident
On November 8, 1997, during a game against the Edmonton Oilers, Chris Simon was disqualified for three games, as he hit the stick of the Edmonton player Mike Grier. Greer allegedly allowed himself humiliating comments about the legacy of the Ojibwe people, whose descendant Simon considered himself to be, and Chris responded with a harsh racist statement (allegedly called him a "black man"). Interestingly, the spoken words between the two players were never confirmed. Simon later flew to Toronto to apologize to Grier. Grier and Simon were later teammates for a short time in 2002 at the Washington Capitals.
Hollweg incident
On March 8, 2007, the Islanders faced the New York Rangers and played in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum arena. At around 13:25 of the third period, the Rangers were in attack. Hallweg was behind Simon and hit his head on the side, causing Chris to get a concussion. However, no penalty ensued, and the game continued. Simon then took Hallweg by the face with both hands and hit him with his own club. As a result, Chris was removed until the end of the game and received a lengthy suspension. Hollweg had a wound on his face from the neck to the chin, so it took two sutures. According to ESPN journalist Barry Melrose, Hallweg avoided serious injuries only because Simon hit first in the shoulder and only then in the face.
Chris Simon was automatically disqualified indefinitely in the NHL while waiting for the decision of the League Commissioner. On March 11, Simon’s fine was set at a minimum of 25 games, and he also extended to the first five games of the 2007-08 season. The Nassau County District Attorney examined the criminal case for filing a lawsuit against Simon, but refused the lawsuit. Hallweg later told Newzday that he was not interested in charging Chris.
In addition, on March 10, Simon issued a statement in which he apologized to Hallweg and the league and said that there was absolutely no place in hockey for what he had done. He claimed that he did not remember much about the incident, because he was not in himself due to a concussion.
Incident with Jarkko Ruutu
December 15, 2007 at around 14:06 of the third period in a home game against Pittsburgh, Tim Jackman and Jarkko Ruutu began a verbal skirmish between the teams' benches during a stoppage of the game. Simon rolled up behind Ruut and pulled Jarkko's leg back with his own, knocking him over. When the Finn fell to his knees, Simon stepped on the player’s right foot with a skate, and then went to the bench. As a result, the striker was removed for the entire match.
The following Monday, Simon agreed to go on indefinite paid leave from the team, saying that “there can be no justification for his actions” and that he needs to spend some time away from the hockey stadium. However, the next day, Simon was suspended without pay for 30 games. This is the third longest disqualification in modern NHL history (the longest in Torres in 2015 for 41 games and one year of suspension from Maxorley hockey in 2000, although the latter served only 23 penalty games, after which his contract ended and he left the NHL) . League commissioner Colin Campbell said that, in his opinion, Simon “repeatedly proved his lack of ability to control his actions”, and also emphasized that this was his eighth disciplinary hearing during his stay in the NHL. After being disqualified, the NHL allowed him to play. He played another game for the New York Islanders before being sold to the Minnesota Wild.
Minor incidents
Chris Simon (NHL) was disqualified for one game in the 1999/2000 playoff season in the Pittsburgh Penguins series for an attack on Peter Popovich's throat on April 13, 2000. He received two games of disqualification: for the first time on April 5, 2001 for kicking Andres Ericsson, and then in 2004 for hitting the face of Tampa Bay striker Artem Fedotenko, as well as for hitting the knees of defender Dallas Stars "by Sergey Zubov.
Chris Simon: where is he playing?
After 15 seasons in the NHL, the hockey player went to the KHL, where he spent 3 seasons for Vityaz near Moscow, a season for Dynamo Moscow and two seasons for Novokunetsky Metallurg. In 2013, Chris Simon, whose statistics in the KHL was much more modest than in the NHL, ended his career.
Personal life
His father, John, has Native American roots and considers himself a descendant of the Ojibwe people, whose representatives live in the Wikwemikong Unceded Nature Reserve on Manitulin Island.
As a teenager, the hockey player struggled with addiction to alcohol and cocaine, but the future coach of Buffalo Sabers and New York Islanders Ted Nolan helped him find sobriety. Chris Simon, whose height / weight is correlated as 195 cm / 105 kg, first wanted to be a defender, but Ted re-qualified him as a flank striker.