Chris Simon's been suspended again, this time for 30 games. In the next logical step for a man with his level of restraint, Simon used his skated foot to chop at the foot of Pittsburgh Penguins player Jarkko Ruutu. Of course, we all remember Simon from this incident, and his numerous other infractions, including calling a half-black player a "nigger."

By all accounts, Simon is a "good guy" off the ice who has trouble dealing with his aggression in the heat of a hockey game. Hey, I get it. Hockey, like football, is a brutally physical sport. In the trenches, it's a constant struggle played by men that are unbelievable physical specimens. Those situations kind of beg for some sort of egregious behavior by some player that gets overzealous. Those players are dealt with and removed for a bit and (hopefully) show enough remorse that they don't engage in that behavior habitually.

Simon's been doing this for years. To this point, he's been lucky enough that one of his vicious attacks on someone hasn't resulted in the end of a career (or worse). What happens when he finally does critically injure someone? Is that what it's going to take before the just get him out of the game?

I guess Colin Campbell's willing to take that chance. I know that I wouldn't be.

Labels: hockey