"Simon still unhappy with Avs bosses"
<br> 



By Rick Sadowski
<br>
Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
<br><br>

DETROIT -- Two years ago, when the Colorado Avalanche swept the Florida Panthers to win the Stanley Cup, rugged Chris Simon played the part of bystander because of a sprained ankle.
<br>
Simon nevertheless got a championship ring and a date with the silver chalice, which he took on an excursion to his favorite fishing hole, Lake Wawa in Ontario, with his grandfather and a couple of friends.
<br>
A contract squabble with Avalanche general manager Pierre Lacroix last season resulted in his trade to the Washington Capitals, who surprised everyone this year by advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals against Detroit.
<br>
Simon is happier than ever to get a crack at a second Cup victory, but the memory of being scratched by then-Avalanche coach Marc Crawford for every game against Florida hasn't completely faded.
<br>
Simon was so intent on lacing on his skates for as many playoff games as possible this spring, he pleaded with the doctor who operated on his shoulder in January to let him play nearly two months ahead of schedule.
<br>
So Simon, who missed the final 51 regular-season games and three more in the Capitals' first-round series against Boston, returned to the lineup on April 28, a 3-0 victory over the Bruins.
<br>
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound forward hasn't missed a game since. He's looking for his first point in 15 playoff games but plays an important role by banging away on a nasty line with Dale Hunter and Craig Berube.
<br>
"Of course, I'm happier here, you know?" Simon, who has no love for Crawford or Lacroix, said Wednesday. "Isn't it obvious?"
<br>
Simon said he "respects" Crawford as a coach, but that's about all, even though he didn't complain about him while he was scoring an NHL career-high 16 goals in the 1995-96 season while playing on a line with Joe Sakic.
<br>
"We didn't get along," Simon said of Crawford, who embarrassed him at practice after a playoff loss to Vancouver in '96. "But I don't really care about that anymore. I'm happy where I am now."
<br>
Simon got off to a hot start this season with seven goals -- four on power plays -- and 10 assists in 28 games before suffering the shoulder injury.
<br>
"If you go around and play on the perimeter, you never get hurt," he said. "Any guy who fights pretty much has shoulder injuries. It's something you've got to deal with. I wasn't expected to play and now I'm playing in the Finals."

<br>
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