Oilers’ Simpson Draws Three-Game Suspension

MONTREAL —  Edmonton Oiler center Craig Simpson was suspended for three games Friday for a hit that injured Steve Bozek of the Vancouver Canucks in a Jan. 23 game.

NHL Executive Vice President Brian O’Neill announced the suspension a day after a hearing in Toronto, and called Simpson’s action “extremely careless and reckless.”

“In considering this matter it is acknowledged that there was no premeditation in the action by Simpson,” O’Neill said. “It is accepted that he struck Bozek for the purpose of moving him away from the front of the net.

“However, the action by Simpson was extremely careless and reckless in that he moved with some speed and struck his opponent with severity . . . when Bozek appeared to be unaware that he was about to be struck.”