The Minnesota Wild added lots of toughness on Tuesday, acquiring Chris Simon from the New York Islanders for a sixth-round draft pick in this year's draft.
Simon has been limited to 28 games this season after serving a 30-game ban for stomping on the leg of Pittsburgh's Jarkko Ruutu in December at Nassau Coliseum.
"I just think that I've learned from my mistakes," Simon told THE CANADIAN PRESS. "I'm an honest person. I've always accepted responsibility on the things I've had to work on to make myself a better person. Away from hockey, I've lived a great life. I've gotten in trouble a couple of times on the ice. But away from hockey, I don't even think I've gotten a speeding ticket.
"I'm so excited for a fresh start, but I still know how I have to play and to stick within the rules of the game. To have a fair competitive spirit, but also a fierce competitive spirit."
''A new lease on life for Chris and a little bit of a change of scenery,'' Islanders general manager Garth Snow said. ''But for us to get the opportunity to get another young player in the lineup was a major factor.''
Simon joins a rugged core of Wild forwards that also includes Todd Fedoruk and Derek Boogaard.
"I know he's had issues. There's no doubt about that," Wild general manager Doug Risebrough said on a conference call with reporters. "I wouldn't call it baggage."