Tag Archive for 'chris-simon'
Speaking of polls, the HockeyFights.com 2007-08 Awards are now open for voting as well. Where else can you vote for “Fight of the Year“, “TKO/KO of the Year“, “Best Team Feud“, or “Best Punching Power“? All those official NHL Awards are for sissies!
The Isles are not very well represented here, in fact they’ve been nominated for “Least Enforcing Team“. But you will find the NYI/NYR Pre-season brawl, and Simon stomping on Rutuu in the “Most Old-School Moment” category. You can browse the categories and videos, but you’ll need a HockeyFights.com forum username and password to vote.
Since the season ends today, we figured why wait on handing out the hardware. So, without further ado, some of my thoughts on who did right by us Isles fans this season, with a top choice and a runner-up. I also refrained from picking any one player for two different awards. I love making up rules for myself. Murph, let us know what you think, too:
MVP – 1) Rick DiPietro 2) Brendan Witt
Ricky was the obvious choice here. On a team with very little firepower and a no-name defense, DiPietro stood on his head a ton of times to keep the Isles in the thick of things before going down with the injury. His play and Ted Nolan’s coaching were the primary reason the Isles had a shot at the playoffs for most of the season. For that reason, I almost picked Nolan as the runner-up but then I thought it was lame to pick a coach. Brendan Witt personified the team’s toughness and did a very good job manning the backline until, he too, went down with an injury (I sense a pattern here). Honorable mention goes to Mike Sillinger, Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie, and Trent Hunter.
Hardest Worker, aka the Jason Blake Memorial Trophy – 1) Trent Hunter 2) Bill Guerin
Both of these guys leave everything on the ice every night. I know a lot of Islander fans are disappointed in Hunter’s lack of points (just 12 goals this year and 40 points), but the guy is one of the few Isles playing physical from end to end, each and every game. He’s also the type of player who would be lighting the lamp much more regularly if the Isles were fortunate to have a true sniper on the team. Guerin is exactly what we thought he’d be. The guy works hard. He’s a little older now and maybe a little slower but it’s hard to gauge when there is just so little offensive talent around him.
The Wow He’s Actually Pretty Good Award – 1) Richard Park 2) Dubie
Richard Park! I can’t tell you how many times I caught myself getting excited at something Park had accomplished and then saying to myself, “Hey, that Richard Park is pretty o.k.” Maybe not the most ringing endorsement in the world but in all honestly it can take some time to win me over and Park is slowly doing that. The guy made a host of big plays this season and was fairly consistent. He currently ranks seventh on the team in points and leads the Isles with three shorthanded goals. Maybe that’s what won me over right there. Love those shorthanded goals. Back-up goalie Wade Dubielewicz was more than solid spot-starting for DiPietro for much of the season before DP went down with the injury. Since then he’s gotten even more time between the pipes and he continues to keep the Isles in games. He’s shown that last season’s heroics wasn’t a fluke and proven he can play at this level.
The Dumbest Play of The Season Award – 1) Chris Simon
The Jarkko Ruutu play. Totally unacceptable. Simon played hard but every once in a while the guy just went off the deep end. The Ruutu play got him a 30-game ban and a ticket off of the Island. Simon won the same award last year when he hit Ryan Hollweg with his stick and was suspended for 25 games.
The Invisible Man Award – 1) Shawn Bates
Another winner without a runner-up. Bates, you know we fell in love with you in 2002 but, man, where’ve you been? For the second straight season, Bates was pretty-much a no-show. He played in just two games this season. Makes last year’s 48 seem Ironman-esque.
The Why I Can’t Wait For Next Season Award – 1) Kyle Okposo 2)Blake Comeau
The Young Guns have shown some signs of things to come in their limited action this season and should give all Islander fans some hope for the future. The Isles need to get some help from the outside if they want to take the next step, but it’s nice knowing the cupboard isn’t empty.
As always, we look to our readers to let us know where we screwed up.
Via HockeyFights.com, here’s ex-Islander Chris Simon putting a hurting on the Flames’ Jim Vandermeer.
After a 3-0 drubbing at the hand of the Montreal Canadiens last night and Islanders’ golf season just 3 weeks away, the Isles answered the only remaining question of the season with a press announcement. Kyle Okposo the Islanders 2006 first round draft pick, will make his NHL debut at home on Tuesday night vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Okposo, selected seventh overall by the Islanders in the 2006 NHL Draft, is considered one of the top prospects in hockey. After playing for Team USA at this year’s World Junior Championships, the 6-foot, 200-pound wing left the University of Minnesota and signed a three-year contract with the Islanders on January 11. He started his pro career in the Islanders organization by playing for their American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. In 29 games with the Sound Tigers, Okposo had 8 goals and 16 assists for 24 points. He had an assist in Bridgeport’s 4-2 over the Philadelphia Phantoms on Saturday night.
“It’s the right time to give Kyle the chance to show what he can do at the NHL level,” said Islanders general manager Garth Snow. “From the beginning we said that when it came to Kyle we would do what was best long-term for both him and our franchise. He has played well in Bridgeport and deserves a look. Our organization is very excited to see Kyle in an Islanders unifom, and I’m sure so are our fans.”
When run through Google Translator (using the new bullshit to english translator), Snow’s statement reads like this.
We looked at the schedule and realized there were still 5 home games left. 4 of which are not against the Rangers. He has played well in Bridgeport and we need to put some fannies in some seats for those games. Now is the right time for Kyle’s debut, even though the Soundtigers could really use him for the AHL playoff push. Besides, half the guys he’s been playing with in the AHL have been called up already.
In other somewhat Islanders related news, the NHL re-reviewed the tapes from the Chris Pronger skate stomping incident and decided that it warranted an 8 game suspension after all.
Duck’s GM Brian Burke was quick to point the finger at Richard Zednik’s scary skate injury, rather than the media/blog outcry of a double standard, or *gasp* repeated offender Chris Pronger.
“I think what’s happened here is there’s a lot of sensitivity to anything related to skates right now,” said Ducks general manager Brian Burke, a former NHL disciplinarian. “I would have to hope and believe that the NHL disregards any kind of outcry when they evaluate these kinds of things.
“I have a lot more confidence in Colin Campbell that he’s never going to respond to media pressure. I know I never did when I did that job.”
James Mirtle is reporting Marc-Andre Bergeron is headed to Anaheim for a 3rd round pick, and Chris Simon is off to Minnesota for a 6th round pick. Looks like the Isles were sellers today, even after their 6 game win streak.
Anaheim has plucked defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron from the Islanders for a third-round pick.
Bergeron is under contract for $1.2-million this season and next.
The Islanders have dealt Chris Simon to Minnesota for a sixth-round pick.
The 3pm trade deadline has passed, but sometimes there are deals that have been submitted but not announced yet. We’ll keep you updated.
The Isles and GM Garth Snow have about 24 hours to decide whether to be buyers or sellers in the trade market. As reported by Greg Logan in today’s Newsday and aFeb. 22 piece, the OrangeAndBlue have some pretty good chips to offer, should they decide to let go of some talented veterans now in the hopes of turning them into prospects or high draft picks. Here are some of the names that may no longer be stitched on the back of an Isles jersey come tomorrow night:
Miroslav Satan – Proven scorer (335 career goals, 679 points) who would be an offensive boost to almost any club in contention. He has played 56 postseason games, scoring 15 goals, 23 assists, and a minus-1.
Mike Comrie – At times very good, other times he sort of disappears. Helped Ottawa reach the finals in 2006-07. Has played 32 playoff games in his brief career, registering 4 goals, six assists, and a minus-2.
Ruslan Fedotenko – The 29-year-old was one of the leader’s in Tampa’s march to the Stanley Cup Championship in 2003-04, tallying 12 goals in 22 games. For his postseason career, Fedotenko has 13 goals, four assists in 53 games with a whopping minus-15.
Josek Vasicek – Has been a solid contributor for the Isles for most of the season. Has just five goals and two assists and a plus-3 in 37 playoff games.
Chris Simon – You think anyone is going to touch this guy? For the record, he’s played in 73 playoff games, scored 10 goals, assisted on seven, has a minus-12 and totaled 191 penalty minutes.
All that said, the Isles could easily decide to be buyers and bring in some scoring prowess and blueline skill. With 67 points and 19 games to go, the Isles are tied for ninth with the Flyers and are just one point behind Buffalo for the final playoff spot. Both the Sabres and the Flyers have a game in hand on the Isles.
Our friends at FauxRumours understand Snow’s predicament and have the Isles as a bubble team going into the deadline, which basically means they could go either way.
Whatever Snow decides over the next 24 hours or so will have a huge impact on this franchise. Is there enough there to win now with a little outside blood or do the Isles need to replenish the core with a talented young group from the farm? Decisions, decisions.
OK here’s what I saw of last night’s game…the last 30 seconds of regulation and OT. During that time I saw the Caps hits three posts including two by Ovechkin, and then Comrie scored the shootout winner. It didn’t look very pretty, but fortunately pretty isn’t a column in the standings.
Chris Simon returns tonight as the Isles host Tampa Bay.
Now that the IslandersArmy crew is stuffed to the gills with turkey, pasta, cakes, cookies, pies, steak, wine, beer, Jack Daniels, and other assorted holiday fare, we’re just too lazy to do any real work – so we bring you our holiday wishes for 2007. And yes, that is an image of Twisted Sister’s Christmas album. I don’t have it, but I aspire to.
1. An improved Islanders power play. The OrangeAndBlue currently rank 20th in the league with goals on just 15.4% of their power plays. League leader Detroit scores on almost 25% of their chances.
2. A Brendan Witt-style Fu Manchu for the entire roster. Mustaches mean business.
3. Goals, goals, and more goals! The Isles still rank dead last in the NHL in scoring, with just 83 goals.
4. The return of Quiznos to the Coliseum. I miss my honey bourbon chicken sandwich.
5. More sold out games at the Coliseum. Granted, the team has to do its part by playing at a level that attracts the casual fan. The Old Barn is one of the most exciting venues to see a game when the place is rocking and the Islanders are bringing their A-game. We need some big nights in 2008.
6. True penance for Chris Simon. The guy really needs to make some changes.
7. A strong professional debut for Kyle Okposo. Word is he may join the organization early in 2008. The kid brings a ton of high expectations to the ice. We hope he gets off to a good start and enjoys himself.
8. A trade for a cagey vet who has been through the wars. The Islanders’ 38 points currently have them in a tie for the eighth seed with Pittsburgh and Toronto. We think the relatively young team could benefit from a veteran, preferably a gritty forward, who has a long playoff resume.
9. Either a signed jersey or a successful Islanders season (yeah, that’s a little bit of a shot at the poll results).
10. And last but not least, a happy and healthy new year to all. LET’S GO ISLANDERS!
As reported by TSN, the NHL has come down hard, really hard, on Chris Simon for his skate stomping incident last weekend.
P.S. This is Simon’s 8th NHL suspension – which is what I thought. I incorrectly stated it was his 7th in an earlier post based on whatever (obviously incorrect) article I was reading at the time.
The National Hockey League has suspended New York Islanders forward Chris Simon for 30 games for stepping on Pittsburgh’s Jarkko Ruutu last weekend.
“There were several factors that were considered in imposing the largest suspension in NHL history for an on-ice incident,” explained NHL Vice President Colin Campbell.
“While fortunate, Mr. Ruutu suffered no serious injury as a result of Chris Simon’s actions, the deliberate act of kicking an opponent with a skate blade, especially when that opponent is in a vulnarable position, is and always has been a repugnant and totally unacceptable act in the game of hockey.”
In light of the severity of the discipline, a source close to the case believes Simon will be quick to appeal it.
[UPDATE] The Islanders have released a statement from Garth Snow regarding Simon and the suspension.
“Since Saturday night, the focus of the New York Islanders has been on Chris Simon the person, not him as a player or on his place in our lineup. As we announced on Monday, the Islanders are going to provide Chris the time and support that he needs for counseling. For Chris right now, hockey must be secondary to the priority of taking care of himself.
“Chris has played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League, has won a Stanley Cup and just as importantly has won the respect of his teammates. He is an Islander, deserves our compassion, and we ask that all Islanders fans join us in supporting Chris every step of the way.”
So much for the fast start to the season. The Islanders continue to hover just above .500 and cannot get any momentum or excessive scoring going, dropping Saturday night’s game at the Coliseum to Pittsburgh 3-2. The Isles have not won back to back games in almost a month, dating back to mid-November and consecutive wins vs. the Rangers and Devils. Ah, the good ol’ days of mid-November.
The Isles fell behind early (bad) 2-0 partial thanks to an awful giveaway by M.A.B in his own defensive zone that led to a Sydney Crosby goal – like he needs any help scoring? The Isles came back though (good) to tie the game at 2 in the second period thanks to goals from Park and Vasicek who leads the team with 10 goals now. For illustrative purposes, Kovalchuk leads the league with 26. The Isles are 2nd to last in league scoring, the only silver lining being that the one team worse than us…is the Rangers. Back to Saturday night, later in the second period there’s some pushing and shoving between Witt and Crosby, two Pens jump in to remind Witt about their “no-touch” insurance policy on Sid. Vasicek jumps in to Witt’s defense, and after the zebras sort it out, the Pens get an early Christmas powerplay (No! Not the Pens! They never catch a break.) as Witt and Vasicek are sent to the Isles box, but only Whitney for the Pens. On the ensuing powerplay, Pittsburgh scores to make it 3-2 and that’s final goal of the game. Coach Nolan’s STILL looking for the extra penalty on that scrum.
“I still can’t understand how two guys have a little pushing match, and then two guys jump one of our guys and we end up in a short-handed situation,” Nolan said.
The Isles play a decent third period, creating chances to try and find the tying goal…and then Chris Simon gets all boneheaded on us…again. Simon takes an “attempt to injure” major penalty for using his skate to stomp on Jarkko Ruutu’s foot as both of them left the ice after a shift. Ruutu fell to the ice, but was not injured. The Isles spend 5 of the last 6 minutes of the game on the penalty kill – which surprisingly produces some of their best chances to score in the period, including a Mike Sillinger breakaway, but can’t find the equalizer.
Simon has been given a leave of absence by the team in advance of his 7th career NHL suspension. Having just completed a 25-game suspension in October, Simon is likely to have the rulebook thrown at him by NHL Dean of Discipline Colin Campbell, because of his repeat offender status. While this incident wasn’t as bad as the stick swinging incident from last year, I still think Simon is looking at 20-25 games again and probably some league mandated anger-management classes. Off the ice he sounds like a great guy, but on the ice he’s shown a history of not respecting his opponents, not thinking before he acts, and not acting in the best interest of his team. It is possible his Islanders and even NHL career could be over because of this incident.
If you play or played organized hockey, you probably know a guy like Chris Simon. He might have even been on your team. The guy who always loses his cool, takes the extra penalty, or takes the pointless, unprovoked penalty. The guy in front of the net who always has to get the last shove in. The guy who’s slashes like he’s chopping wood. Or the absolute worst guy in men’s league – the guy who forgets it’s all for fun and everyone has to go to work in the morning. The guy with no respect for his opponents and just wants to fight and hurt people. On the ice, in the parking lot, wherever.
Now I’m not saying Chris Simon is as bad as “that guy” or that he wants to fight Ruutu in the parking lot. I’m just saying if you’ve played organized hockey, you’ve seen a guy like this who loses his temper a bit too often. Simon’s been lucky that no one has been seriously hurt from his actions, he’s going to run out of luck…or second chances, very soon.
