Simon not only problem

Chris Simon’s hit was dangerous, malicious, and intentional. There is no doubt about that. But the part that gets forgotten in all of this is, he did it for a reason. Randy Sportak, from the Calgary Sun, takes a closer look at the hitee, Ryan Hollweg, and some of the other pests of the NHL before asking some current players about the role the instigator has in keeping them in check. Quotable:

Chris Simon got what he deserved.

Now, though, the powers that be must take into account what caused Simon to slash Hollweg and do something about it.

Let's take a peek at Hollweg's rap sheet. He's no angel.The 119 penalty minutes he's racked up this season for the Rangers proves it.

This season alone, Hollweg has amassed a trio of boarding penalties and two charging minors. He's also twice been flagged for kneeing, once worthy of a major
penalty.

Oh yeah, and he's collected three elbowing penalties, seven roughing minors and a dozen fighting majors.

"It's one thing to be a fiery guy, a hard worker and intense, one of those middleweight guys that crashes and bangs but it's another thing to take advantage of guys, and you see a lot of that now," [Rhett] Warrener said. "You see guys exposed and in vulnerable positions and they just eat that stuff up. Guys aren't protected at
all by the league in that respect, so maybe they should worry about that stuff,
too."

Hollweg's transgressions haven't gone unnoticed. Last season, he was given a three-game suspension for checking Philly's R.J. Umberger from behind.

And Hollweg's hardly alone. Guys like Sean Avery and Matt Cooke have few friends outside their dressing rooms.

Nashville's Jordin Tootoo -- who Calgary's Robyn Regehr chased down this past week and tried to pummel-- is another offender, called out for always being the second man into the corners.

Earlier this season, St. Louis goalie Manny Legace referred to Tootoo as a "donkey" after a game in which the Predators forward was twice called for charging, one of which came when he drilled Christian Backman as he touched the puck on an icing call.

Regehr feels the current instigator rules prevent players from policing those who bend the rules.

"It's a little harder for those guys to be kept in check because of the rules of the game but I think those will be changing and there'll be other ways to take care of it in the future," he said.

"When I first came into the league, something like this didn't happen because the rules were a little different," said Darren McCarty. "It's not the tough guys you have to worry about because they police themselves, it's the guys in the middle that play that pesky role and aren't held accountable.