Rangers’ Hollweg won’t press charges against Simon

Ryan Hollweg won’t press charges against suspended New York Islanders forward Chris Simon for his two-handed stick attack to the face, though Nassau County prosecutors could still proceed against Simon, Newsday reported Saturday.

Hollweg, who took a few stitches in the chin but was not seriously hurt, and two attorneys for the New York Rangers met with representatives from Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice’s office Thursday.

“They asked me if I wanted to, but I told them I didn’t want to press charges,” Hollweg told the Long Island, N.Y., newspaper. “I’m not happy about what he did, but I want to focus on making the playoffs. I just want to move on.”

Rice’s spokesman, Eric Phillips, said a decision on whether to proceed would probably be made Monday.

Simon was suspended by the NHL for a league-record 25 games for his vicious hit in retaliation for a hard check by Hollweg in the Islanders’ win against the Rangers on March 8.

Simon must sit out the rest of the regular season and the entire postseason, if the club gets that far.

The ban is the longest in terms of games missed in NHL history, and Simon’s sixth suspension.