March 19, 2024 will definitely go down in the history of Russian sports as one of the saddest and saddest days of this century. In 24 hours, the death of three people who left a brilliant mark on our sport was announced. First the Belarusian coach Konstantin Koltsov passed away, then we learned about the death of the legendary commentator and journalist Vasily Utkin, and in the evening sad news came from North America. Well-known former defenseman Mike Commodore announced the death of one of the most respected foreign players in KHL history, Chris Simon.
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“Guys, today is a sad day… Chris Simon was definitely a scary guy on the ice and a very good player. We spent a lot of time together during our stay in Calgary in 2004, as we both lived in a hotel. He was very kind to me. Rest in peace, Chris. We will miss you,” the Commodore wrote on his social network.
Chris Simon was born on January 30, 1972. At age 18, he was drafted in the second round, 25th overall, by the Philadelphia Flyers. However, the Canadian hockey player did not play a single game for the “pilots”. Two years later, Simon was traded to the Quebec Nordiques, where he began his NHL career.
After the Canadian club moved to Colorado, the forward would spend his only season with the Avalanche, which brought the hockey player the main victory in his sports life. In 1996, Simon lifted the Stanley Cup over his head. In the championship playoffs he played 12 games and scored 3 (1 + 2) goals.
A few months after winning the Stanley Cup, the forward was traded to the Washington Capitals, where Simon subsequently spent 6.5 seasons. This was the longest period in a hockey player’s career on a single team. However, the Canadian of Indian origin did not see Alexander Ovechkin appear in the capital team. He left Washington in 2003, after which he played in the NHL for the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Calgary Flames, New York Islanders and Minnesota Wild.
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In total he played 857 games in the NHL, in which he scored 154 goals, gave 168 assists, scored 322 points and received 2,015 penalty minutes. The last season in the NHL turned out to be a disaster for Chris. There he played only 38 games, as he missed the initial part of the regular season due to the disqualification he received for his infraction last season.
On March 8, 2007, during a regular season game, Rangers player Ryan Hollweg physically assaulted Simon, who was then playing for the Islanders. Hollweg wasn’t even ejected for his actions, which infuriated Chris, who already had a reputation for his on-ice antics. The Islanders forward brutally hit his opponent in the face with his stick. Hollweg managed to replace his shoulder, thanks to which he avoided a serious injury.
Simón himself explained his action this way: “He hit me from behind and I crashed into the side. I felt very hurt. In that episode, the puck was coming towards me and I was concentrating on it, but suddenly I got hit! I turned around and saw Hollweg preparing to hit me again. And what could he do in this case? I hit with what I had in my hands. Yes, you would have been right too.”
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It is true that the attacker later repented and retracted his words: “After watching the video replay of this moment, I felt disgusted. I would like to apologize to Ryan, the fans, the club and the entire league. Honestly, I don’t remember that episode well, plus I was out of my mind during the game and after the game I couldn’t get back to normal for a long time.”
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For hitting his head on a stick, Simon was disqualified for 25 games, which at the time was a record for the NHL. As a result, the tough guy had to miss the end of the regular season, the playoffs and even five games of the next season. In addition, he paid a fine of almost 80 thousand dollars.
Chris Simon and Alexander Radulov
Photo: Yuri Kuzmin, foto.khl.ru
In 2008, the hockey player moved to Russia and signed a contract with Chekhov’s Vityaz. There Chris fell in love instantly. In those days, the Chekhovites relied on the power component, hiring legionnaires with a fighting past and present. Of all of them, Simon was the most active hockey player, but nevertheless, in his debut season in the KHL he managed to accumulate 236 penalty minutes. In that championship, Simon had several beautiful and fair fights with Svitov, Grenier, Baev, Ulanov, Kosmachev.
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In Russia, Chris was respected almost everywhere, because although he had a tough character, he never allowed himself to jump on his opponents from behind, openly play dirty and choose training partners from a lower weight category. In a word, he lived up to the tough guy code of honor.
“I didn’t need to learn to fight; he was already good at it. However, much more than fighting, I always loved playing hockey. If I have to fight, then I fight, but playing gives me much more joy. I just try to be a good example for the guys, work hard and let them compete with me. After all, I always try to play to my full potential, I go out every turn as if it were my last,” Simon said in an interview with “Championship” in 2010.
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What can we say if Simon in the KHL finally surpassed Vityaz, where for three years he was one of the top scorers, reached the KHL All-Star Game and before the 2011 playoffs moved to Dynamo Moscow with Oleg Znark? Chris signed a contract with the capital club when he turned 39 years old.
Miroslav Shatan, Chris Simon and Oleg Znarok
Photo: Zigismund Zalmanis, photo.khl.ru
Simon spent the last two years of his playing career at Novokuznetsk Metallurg, where he was involved in training talented youngsters. In general, Maxim Kitsyn, Dmitry Kagarlitsky, Anton Slepyshev and many others began their professional careers before Simon’s eyes. That team was completed by Leonid Weisfeld. And so he talked about the reasons for signing a contract with a veteran who had already played.
“From my point of view, this is the strongest “cop” in NHL history. At the same time, he is an absolutely team person. And Simon will play how the team needs. We took him not so he could fight, but to maintain order in the place. So that no one has any desire to fight with us,” Weisfeld said.
cris simón
Photo: photo.khl.ru
In 2013, Simon ended his playing career and three years later spoke about how much he missed Russia. “In addition to the good nature and openness of the people, I liked hockey in Russia. Passing game, combinations, speed. I didn’t usually show my favorite power hockey, but I enjoyed getting to know a new style. I like Russian hockey.
I had never encountered many of the things I encountered in Russia before. At first it was not easy. I remember that at some point I and other Canadian hockey players from Vityaz wondered why we had come here. But they soon got used to it and began to take many things for granted.
In general, I really like the rich Russian culture, customs and traditions. This will stay with me forever. Over the course of five years, I became very Russified. Here’s a simple example: today, when I left my room, I forgot my keys. “I wanted to go back, but I immediately remembered that this was a bad omen and I didn’t,” Simón said.
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In 2017, his name appeared in the media in a not very pleasant story. The famous tough guy reportedly asked the court to declare bankruptcy and cancel his debts amounting to more than $500,000, including three years of child support arrears.
Simon claimed that he had no source of income for several years. He ended his career due to various injuries and could not find a new job. The former tough guy suffered from traumatic encephalopathy, which he said is associated “with a severe brain injury sustained during his hockey career.” He was also diagnosed with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and arthritis in his shoulders, hands, knees, back and neck.
“I have no way to pay the debt or reach any agreement. “My financial situation is discouraging,” Simon said in the affidavit.
Since then, there has been virtually no news about Simon’s life. He did not become a professional expert, did not participate in podcasts and did not share stories and terrifying details about his life in Russia, as many of his colleagues in that “Vityaz” did. Chris passed away today.
“Championship” expresses its deepest condolences to Chris’s family and friends.
