Chris Simon, former Capitals enforcer, 52
Chris Simon, a hard-knuckled pugilist who found fame with the Washington Capitals with a mix of brutal hits and goal scoring, died Monday in his hometown of Wawa, Ontario, the NHL Players’ Association said. He was 52.
His family released a statement saying the death was selfinflicted: “The family strongly believes and witnessed firsthand, that Chris struggled immensely from CTE which unfortunately resulted in his death.”
Fresh off winning the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche when he joined the Capitals in 1996, the 6-foot-4-inch, 230-pounder provided grit and protection on a Capitals team that made its first Stanley Cup finals appearance in 1998. Two seasons later, Simon became an unexpected scoring threat with a team-leading 29 goals, while also leading the team in penalty minutes (146).
With his long hair and swoony looks, Simon became a fan favorite. The Capitals recognized his appeal and featured him in marketing campaigns under new owner Ted Leonsis. In one commercial, he knocked over an elderly woman at a grocery store to provide protection for teammate Peter Bondra. The team’s fan club named him the winner of the 1999-2000 Yvon Labre award, given to its favorite player, besting five-time winner Bondra. The Capitals also made him their first bobblehead, which they gave away to fans at a game in 2001.
Despite his quiet demeanor off the ice, his game-time aggression often boiled over in Washington; the league suspended him three times, including for a 1997 incident in which he used a racial slur against Edmonton’s Mike Grier. But his disciplinary issues in D.C. paled in comparison to his time later with the New York Islanders, when he sat 25 games in 2007 for hitting Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg in the face with a stick, and 30 more for slamming his skate on Pittsburgh’s Jarkko Ruutu.
Simon almost didn’t make it to the NHL; he nearly found himself out of hockey by 19 because of alcohol abuse. Coaches and family intervened.
“You grow up fast in junior hockey, and I didn’t handle it properly,” he told Sports Illustrated in 1996. “Some guy would recognize me in a bar and say: ‘You’re pretty tough as a hockey player. Let’s see how tough you really are.’ If I’d been drinking, I didn’t give a d---. I’d fight them.”
He got sober and was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers, 25th overall, in 1990. Simon played 15 years in the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques (who moved to Colorado), Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Calgary Flames, Islanders, and Minnesota Wild, plus another five seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Despite making more than $15 million in his career, in 2017 he filed for bankruptcy and was part of a lawsuit against the NHL, alleging the league didn’t warn players about concussions and other risks. The NHL settled for $18.49 million, plus a total of $70.6 million in legal fees.
In 2017, he was reported to be suffering from depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the Ottawa Citizen. Simon was married and divorced twice and had four children.
“I know that if it wasn’t for me stopping drinking I would not be here today playing in the NHL,” Simon told the Post in 2000. “I don’t know that I’d be alive. I’m a better person for it and a stronger person. Not drinking doesn’t bother me anymore.”