Capitals’ Simon to Say He’s Sorry

Washington Capital left wing Chris Simon, who likely will receive an extended suspension Tuesday from the NHL for a racial epithet he made against Edmonton Oilers forward Mike Grier, flew to Toronto on Monday night to apologize to Grier personally.

Simon and General Manager George McPhee were scheduled to meet with Grier after the Oilers played the Sabres in Buffalo, an Edmonton spokesman said. The Oilers, who are on a six-game road trip, bused to Toronto after the game, where Simon and McPhee planned to meet them.

Simon and McPhee will then fly to New York to attend a 1 p.m. hearing Tuesday with NHL senior vice president Brian Burke. Burke, who suspended Simon on Sunday, will determine additional punishment for the incident, in which Simon aimed at Grier a two-word phrase combining an obscenity with a racial epithet after Saturday’s game between their teams. Simon, born in Wawa, Canada, is a Native American of the Ojibwa Tribe. Grier, born in Detroit, is an African American.

Burke made his initial ruling after talking to Simon and two on-ice officials who heard the remarks. Simon has not commented on the situation publicly, saying he wanted to wait until after the hearing, but Grier expressed his surprise Sunday, saying he “didn’t expect [the epithet] to come from another minority. It’s just a little more shocking.”

Monday, Capital owner Abe Pollin and McPhee both expressed regret for the epithet. Pollin, who is Jewish, said he could empathize with Grier because “I’ve been subjected to anti-semitism.”

McPhee said the Capitals would wait until after today’s hearing to determine what, if any, internal punishment Simon will face. There is no precedent to indicate how severely the NHL will punish Simon, although some league sources feel Simon’s case might be used to make a statement. The NHL issued a specific directive prohibiting ethnic slurs last December, and the policy was re-issued during the first week of this season.

Still, McPhee said he hopes Simon’s case is treated as an isolated situation. “This is a singular incident, and obviously something has to be done because Chris went over the line, but I think the league will be reasonable,” McPhee said. “It’s certainly a very regrettable incident. The remark was insensitive, inconsiderate and totally unacceptable. We wish to express our regret to Mike Grier and his family and to all hockey fans.”

There are six black players in the NHL.