Chris Simon punches through linesman, elbows referee in KHL fight (VIDEO)
Chris Simon, infamous NHL goon-turned-KHL all-star, likes to punch people in the face. He doesn't like when someone tries to prevent him from punching people in the face.
Simon, a winger for Metallurg, wanted to punch former Florida Panthers forward Janis Sprukts of Dinamo Riga in a Friday night game, presumably in the face. The KHL linesmen wanted to prevent this from happening. Simon responded by punching over and through a linesman, hitting the official in the process. But the real offense comes at about the 1:05 mark:
Referee Vyacheslav Bulanov attempted to break up the fight, and Simon elbowed him. The elbow earned Simon a game misconduct late in the third period, along with five for fighting and two for roughing. Metallurg lost the game to Riga, 4-1.
Simon has now played five seasons in the KHL, and has 43 PIM in 23 games for Metallurg this season. He's found a niche, years after he used Ryan Hollweg's head as a piñata and sharpened his skates on Jarkko Ruutu in 2007, followed by his departure from the NHL in 2008. But yeah, once in a while the crazy still comes out, apparently.
Meanwhile, the biggest revelation from his clip might be that Ron Swanson is moonlighting as a Russian hockey referee during his down time in the Pawnee parks department:
