Sweet Tea, Barbecue, and Bodychecks

Archive for December 16th, 2007

Can’t go for the head? Chop his foot off instead!

16 Dec 2007 @ 2:30 PM

Let’s go to the videotape:

As you see in this clip, Jarkko Ruutu is standing by the bench jawing at an Islander (Looked like Andy Sutton, but I could be wrong). Officials intervene as Chris Simon skates up to the bench. Suddenly, Ruutu collapses as Simon stomps down on his ankle with his skate–not once, but TWICE, hard–and takes a seat on the bench.

Simon received a match penalty for intent to injure, and the Pens went on to win. The incident, according to the talking heads on On The Fly, will go under review.

Now, I’m sorry–but one has to look at past history (Simon came off a 25-game joke-suspension–”Bad boy, no preseason for you!”–for cross-checking the Rangers’ Ryan Hollweg in the face last season, and has a reputation as a cheap-shot artist) and the potential severity of the situation. Ruutu may be a smack-talking little bastard, and he may be a little on the sly-cheap himself–but his history of agitation doesn’t warrant what would have been a career-ending injury had his foot and ankle not been encased in the hard leather-and-plastic siding of a hockey skate.

Of course, this is Colin Campbell we’re talking about–so I am betting Simon gets three games and a letter in the mail saying “you are a bad boy, don’t do that again.”

Bet on it.