What’s the one thing that Chris Simon and the Nassau Coliseum have in common?

Hopefully neither will be on Long Island for much longer.

With the impending return of Islanders forward Chris Simon looming, I cannot help but think, why? Not only is Chris Simon not fit for the “new” NHL but he is a hazard on the ice. Simon who has been out of the lineup since December 19th for stomping on Jarkko Ruutu’s leg, still finds himself 7th on the team in penalty minutes! If not for his close relationship with coach Ted Nolan, I’m hard pressed to believe that Simon deserves a spot on this team. I know his statistics are gaudy, all of his 3 points on the season but the idea of Simon taking valuable time away from one of the kids like Blake Comeau, really irks me. Simon throughout his Islanders career has shown all he is valuable for is protecting his teammates, the problem with that is however is that he is not very good at it.

Personally, I do not think Simon deserves another shot at playing professional hockey. Playing hockey is not a a person’s god given right, it’s a privilege. Simon abused this privilege not once, not twice, not three times, but SEVEN TIMES! If an everyday person had to be reprimanded by their boss once, they would most likely get a warning and told not to do that again. If the same thing happened two more times, your going to be fired. So why should Simon get chance after chance after chance? What if Ruutu was seriously injured? What if when Simon did his Babe Ruth impression and used face like a batting tee, Holliweg lost an eye? Would Simon still get another shot? It seems as if because Simon is so horrible at actually taking guys out, that he gets one more go around.

This is why the NHL has a horrible reputation. Guys like Simon gives companies like ESPN another opportunity to create a bad league image. When was the last time you heard ESPN actually have an extensive talk about hockey? Well, i don’t remember either but I’m sure it had something to do with Simon. The NHL needs to do itself a favor and give Simon the Pete Rose treatment.