12/19/2007

Simon says 30 games

Chris Simon received a 30 game suspension for stepping on Jarkko Ruutu last weekend. This is the longest suspension in NHL history. The last record was the 25-game ban served earlier this season by.. Chris Simon.

Honestly, why is this guy waisting his time "playing" hockey? Chris Simon contributes so very little, it is really throwing money in the toilet, whatever the New York Islanders are paying him. When, or if, he returns this season he will have missed a total of 60 games and they are all his own fault. How is that helping the team? And it's not like this is something new, he has been like this for as long as I can remember. I just can't figure out how it can be worth paying this guy considering how little he brings. And sure, everyone will say that he is a tough guy and he protects the stars and so on, a good guy to have on your team when things get rough. But how can he be useful as a tough guy when he is not even on the ice for most part of the season? Beats me.

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The Phoenix Coyotes is the hottest team in the NHL right now. Yes, the Ottawa Senators and the Calgary Flames both have six straight wins, but the Coyotes are on a very impressive road trip out east. After the 3-2 loss on Long Island, they went on to beat New Jersey 4-1 and the New York Rangers 5-1. Those are very tough teams to beat in their own court. To top it off they also dropped the sliding Philadelphia Flyers 3-2. The Coyotes have really improved as a team this season, especially since acquiring Ilya Bryzgalov from Anaheim and rookies like Peter Mueller are contributing on a regular basis. If they can find consistency on this level, a playoff spot is not out of reach. The first big test comes tomorrow when they will get warm welcome back to the west from the San Jose Sharks.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah I don't know what to say anymore about this guy. This is his 8th suspension and I think the Isles are paying him somewhere in the neighborhood of 900K but I could be wrong. He's a complete head case and most think he's played his last game. He did score 29 goals once though I'll give him that. Also, I think he was Forsberg's linemate (at least for a while)when "Foppa" broke into the league with the Nords' in '95. Simon-Forsberg-Nolan sounds about right. Like I said, I don't know what to say anymore so I'm just rambling.

BFox

Niklas Olsson said...

I think you're right about him having played his last game, at least for the Islanders. On the other hand, who else wants this guy? He has used up way more chances than he should have been given.