Head Hunter

Apparently, taking a stick to an opponent's head will cost you 25 games in the NHL. In real-life, it would probably cost you closer to 25 years! Ok, maybe not, but at least 25 months.

But, the penalty is not the problem. If it's a 25 game infraction, fine. Give Simon 25 games of pine time. The NHL didn't do that. They said "You're out for the year!" Well, the year is almost over. They are rolling the suspension over to next year if the Islanders don't play enough playoff games. That seems weird. "You're out for this year, unless your team doesn't do well enough to make you sit out enough games ... then you'll be out to start next year too!"

If Simon should be out for a year, he should be out for a year. Not the rest of this season or at least 25 games, but a year. An entire calendar year. I wouldn't mind if he was banned from the league. There is no place for that type of action in any sport. Fighting is commonly accepted in hockey ... I doubt attempts at decapitation are as appreciated by everyone around the sport.

The problem with saying someone is out for the rest of a season is that it isn't a reproducible penalty. If someone takes their stick to someone's head in the 1st game of the year, are they supposed to sit out the last 80 games because they'll be suspended for the year when Simon only got about 25 (and not that many in the regular season)? Is the action really less reprehensible late in the season than early on? That's what invoking a "rest of the season" penalty says.