NHL changes course, says it will review Pronger incident

Earlier, Chris Simon said he didn't understand the league's inaction to Chris Pronger's stomp on the Canucks' Ryan Kesler.

By KENT YOUNGBLOOD, Star Tribune

Last update: March 14, 2008 - 10:52 PM

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The National Hockey League changed course Friday and will review a play in which Anaheim's Chris Pronger stomped on Vancouver's Ryan Kesler Wednesday.

TSN of Canada reported Friday that the league will review the play today.

Earlier Friday, Wild winger Chris Simon had expressed amazement that he had received a 30-game suspension for stomping on Jarkko Ruutu while Pronger was apparently not going to be sanctioned for what Simon said was the same action.

"I don't know what other people are thinking," Simon said after practice Friday. "It would be nice to have things treated fairly. I don't think in that instance it's fair at all. I couldn't believe the way that nothing was going to be done about it. I still can't believe that."

The league's about-face caught Pronger by surprise.

"I got a text message [Thursday] night saying that there was no suspension and it was not under review," Pronger told reporters after Friday's practice. "Things change, whether it was new video or whatever the reason was behind the 180, I was a little surprised."

Simon said he watched the much-seen video of that incident. He said it clearly shows Pronger stomping on Kesler's leg. "The tape is self-explanatory," Simon said. "It shows what he did."

Simon received his suspension in December while he was still a member of the New York Islanders.

Simon's history of suspensions clearly played into the 30-game sentence he got this season.

But Pronger also has a long list of suspensions, including two one-game suspensions during last season's playoffs. The first came for hitting Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom head-first into the glass during the Western Conference finals. The second came after his elbow knocked Ottawa's Dean McAmmond out of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Simon is first among active players with eight career suspensions. Pronger is second with seven.

Asked if he was frustrated by the apparent disparity, Simon said no.

"It's more disappointing that I can get the amount of games that I get and the player never misses a shift, and other players can hurt players," Simon said, referring to Pronger's hit in the playoffs. "And then the same thing, if not twice, happens in the Vancouver-Anaheim game and there is not even a review. It is decided there is no suspension."

Colin Campbell, the NHL's senior executive vice president, did not reply to an e-mail request for comment.

Pouliot arrives

Benoit Pouliot came to practice Friday directly from the airport, his gear still wet from the Houston Aeros game the night before. So he hadn't yet talked to Wild coach Jacques Lemaire about what his role will be. But, according to Lemaire, that is entirely up to Pouliot, who was called up from the AHL club to replace injured center Steve Kelly.

''It depends on his first two minutes," Lemaire said. ''Maybe his first 30 seconds." Lemaire's message: The better -- and more consistently -- Pouliot plays, the more minutes he will get. The Wild would like to have Pouliot do more than fourth-line checking duty.

Pouliot, meanwhile, knows how he plays down the stretch this season could affect him next season as well. ''I just want to be in the lineup, be a part of the team," he said. ''I want to make things happen and stay as long as I can."

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