Five For Chirping: Goonery, The Gr8 One and Gear Rules.

As the season winds down, certain controversies always arise around the NHL. Debates over blown calls, soft goals, bad trades always contribute to the 'what if?' appeal of our game.

Punditry reigns supreme, to say the least.

As it has been such an extended period of time since my last article, and I never run out of opinions, I have decided to introduce the first in a new series of articles, entitled "5 For Chirping ", where I will offer a candid, unabashed view of the hot topics around the rink, straying from my previous objective view and subject matter to lay it out the way I see it.

Quite simply, my writing will have a full set of teeth, even if those I write about don't. 

So without further ado, allow me to welcome you into my brain!

Wipe your feet please.

Chris Simon Cries Star Treatment

Perrenial malcontent Chris Simon claims that Colin Campbell is playing favourites. 

We have all seen the now infamous Chris Pronger stomp on Ryan Kesler by now, and listened to blowhard analysts decrying the dirtiness of the play ad nauseum.

Now Chris Simon is crying "star treatment" over Pronger's 8 game suspension, which obviously is far short of the 30 game decision he recently enjoyed.

Is he right? I genuinely hope so. 

I will go on record as saying that I like neither of these players to quell any inklings of favouritism, but I think both play their respective roles to a 'T'.

Chris Simon is a goon. There is no need for sugar-coated adjectives like 'fiery' or 'gritty' or 'scrappy', he is a goon who serves no purpose in the league beyond fighting. In his situation, he went out of his way to get over to the scrum where Jarkko Ruutu was, waiting for his moment and intentionally stomping on his leg. This was not even a year after serving 25 games for his wild swing at Ryan Hollweg, though I will concede, the former of the two was not pre-meditated. In my opinion, this play was reminiscent of Claude Lemieux's suckerpunch from the bench on Brett Lindros back in 1995. A dirty guy saw an opportunity and took it. The game took 20 years to purge the likes of Claude, Ulf and Matthew Barnaby, we don't need nu-goons.

Chris Pronger is also a goon. Yes, he's a goon with a Cup ring and an Olympic Gold medal, but he is still a goon. He is also a skilled player, with a tremendous upside including keen hockey sense,strong leadership skills and a ferocious work ethic.He also has a history of suspensions, however none as blatant as Simon's.

Did he receive star treatment? No. Kesler was trying to put him in a leg lock to tie him up during the play, the video does clearly show a 'stomping motion', but it also shows him trying to free his leg, he did not willingly skate to Kesler, nor line up his shot.

Should he receive star treatment? Yes, because that way it will teach talentless hacks like Chris Simon that the league doesn't look kindly on one-dimensional players and they'll think twice the next time they're in a situation where an opportunity presents itself. 

In my opinion, Chris Simon is an unnecessary antique in the new NHL, as are others of his ilk, including Donald Brashear, Brian McGrattan, Georges Laraque and Jody Shelley.

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