Former NHL enforcer Chris Simon dies at 52

Former NHL enforcer Chris Simon has passed away at age 52, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. Simon was a mainstay of the NHL’s bruiser era, playing 15 seasons. Seven of those came with the Washington Capitals, where Simon remains one of the club’s most penalized players, with 666 penalty minutes in 320 games.

Simon was originally drafted 25th overall in the 1990 NHL Draft, going to the Philadelphia Flyers in what was then the second round. He was selected just ahead of 1000-game pros Doug Weight and Geoff Sanderson. But Philadelphia knew what they were getting in Simon, who recorded 36 goals, 74 points, and 146 penalty minutes in 57 OHL games during his draft year.

Two years after his draft day, Simon would be part of one of the biggest trades in NHL history — making up the ’future considerations’ aspect of the trade that sent Eric Lindros to the Philadelphia Flyers. Simon was moved to the Quebec Nordiques alongside Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Steve Duchesne, $15M in cash, and more.

The Nordiques awarded Simon his NHL debut in the subsequent 1992-93 season, with Simon netting two points and 67 penalty minutes in just 16 NHL games. He’d break the 100-penalty minutes mark in 1993-94, a feat he’d achieve in each of the next four seasons and pull off nine total times in his career. His most penalized year in the NHL was 1995-96, when Simon totaled 250 penalty minutes in 64 games, the sixth-most in Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche history. Simon was also a major piece of Colorado’s 1996 Stanley Cup win, providing a physical presence and grit that pushed the Avalanche down the stretch.

Simon built a legacy as a hard-nosed enforcer, with 101 fighting majors across his 15-year career. PHR sends its condolences to Simon’s family and friends and to all of the organizations he’s played for.