Chris Simon's 30-game ban a joke
Colin Campbell, you blew it.
Sorry, it's tough to tiptoe around this one.
Screw trying to come across as politically correct. Campbell just plain got it wrong on the latest Chris Simon suspension.
Click here to view the video of the infraction.
Thirty games for a guy with a rap sheet like Simon's is a farce. 30? Did we lose a zero somewhere?
Now, as sure as I'll be running around aimlessly in some mall next Monday afternoon trying to get a head start on my Christmas shopping, my colleagues Kean Doherty and Rick Couchman are working hand in hand to rebut my stance. Even though the rebuttal carries Kean's byline, I see the fine hand of Mr. Couchman between the lines.
I like to call them Dumb and Dumber. You can decide which is which. It's what is known as a "can't miss."
As I stated yesterday, I have a hunch Chris Simon will never play another game. For whatever reason, if you have a Simon jersey, you may want to hang it in the closet for good.
It now is a collector's item. But you'd have to be pretty twisted to want that in your collection.
That said, in handing down Simon's eighth suspension, Campbell may have left the door open for this thug's return to the game.
On the other hand, I'm not sure Simon wants to come back and, if so, what team will be willing to take a chance on a lunatic?
Last March, Simon was suspended 25 games for a vicious slash to the upper body of Ryan Hollweg.
Just for kicks, here is what Simon said after that ruling came down: "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."
Here is what Simon had to say earlier this week: "There is no excuse for my actions ... and I apologize to everyone involved."
It almost sounds like a form letter. Just change the date.
"Sorry" just doesn't cut it anymore.
If we are talking about precedent, look no further than Marty McSorley, who, following his attack on Donald Brashear (video link), never played another NHL game.
Surely, Simon should face the same bleak future.
Somewhere below this article, Dumb and Dumber, er, Kean and Rick will try to put a hole in my theory and attempt to dazzle you with statistics and "hockey is a tough game" hyperbole.
Simply, they are wrong. Like Campbell.
In 10 months, this goon has been suspended twice for a total of 55 games.
Sadly, it is not nearly enough for Chris Simon, an incorrigible repeat offender who is a disgrace to himself and the game.
Campbell's verdict on Simon accurate
Posted by: Kean Doherty
Chris Simon got exactly what he deserved — not a game more, not a game less.
So there it is, Mr. Smarty Pants Henwood, right from Dumber's mouth.
I know you have been sipping from the same Kool-Aid that NHL apologists have been drinking lately, but do you really think that Colin Campbell could have done any more to Simon that he already didn't do to himself?
Oh right, you answered that question for me — thanks, your Christmas card's in the mail.
You're right, much as I hate to admit it. Chris Simon probably won't play another game in the NHL, if Islanders' owner Charles Wang or Simon's shrink have anything to do with it.
But Campbell did the right thing, imposing the stiffest sentence yet on a player who just can't stop raising his own bar. (Perhaps the disciplinary czar is a PETA member and Simon is his latest cause-célèbre. Who knows?)
What Simon did to Jarkko Ruutu was inexcusable and not worthy of further discussion. But it wasn't worthy of a lifetime ban.
Colin Campbell isn't perfect as you pointed out, and his delayed decision had many mitigating factors.
First, violence in the NHL is endemic.
The culture of vengeance and payback is as much a part of the game as goal-scoring and he and Commissioner Gary Bettman know it. Banning Simon from the game won't just magically wipe that slate clean.
Besides, the suits at NHL HQ just don't have it in them to rid the game of all its ugliness. Like it or not, violence sells.
Second, the NHLPA no doubt would have been very vocal about a career-ending suspension. They would have pointed out, rightly, that there was no precedent for it.
I'd say that would be grounds for a lengthy appeal process that would sap some energy out of the NHL's other daily battles.
What it all comes down to is that, when the league had the chance, it didn't hand out lifetime suspensions to Todd Bertuzzi, Steve Downie or Jesse Boulerice, whose acts were equally egregious.
In fact, you even said it yourself, Marty, that the NHL was getting it right, using Downie's suspension as a bellwether!
I might be a dumbass, but you sure make my job easy!
Sure enough, Chris Simon is likely to follow fellow meathead Marty McSorley into whatever retirement awaits him.
Colin Campbell did get it right, though, and this punishment will prove him out.