Plenty of stick taps from Maple Leafs to Simmonds in retirement

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The Wayne Train’s relatively brief stop in Toronto made quite an impression. 

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With Wayne Simmonds on Monday officially announcing his retirement from the National Hockey League, the Maple Leafs reflected on the impactful forward’s three seasons in Toronto, which amounted to 128 regular-season games and nine in the playoffs. 

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“Competitor, one of the toughest guys I’ve ever coached and a good guy to have around, good energy about him,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I thought it was a shame that his first year with us (2020-21) was played at a time when there was no fans in the building (because of the pandemic). He had a terrific career and had his best years in Philadelphia, so it’s fitting that he gets to retire as a Flyer.”

Simmonds will sign a one-day contract as a Flyer and will be honoured on April 13 when the Flyers play host to the New Jersey Devils.

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Simmonds scored at least 24 goals in six of his eight seasons with the Flyers, and cemented his status as one of the best net-front players in the game, whether it was creating havoc for opposing goalies and defencemen or deflecting pucks with skill. And when he dropped the gloves, the guy on the other side knew he was in for a battle.

“I enjoyed everything about playing with Wayne,” defenceman Morgan Rielly said. “He’s a great teammate. He plays a hard brand of hockey, playing against him for all those years when he was in Philly, it was very difficult. Having him here in our room for a couple years was a pleasure for the entire time.” 

Even some who did not share a dressing room with Simmonds had a high level of respect for the Scarborough native, including winger Ryan Reaves.

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“It was a lot of fun to watch a guy like that who made a living in front of the net have such a good career,” Reaves said. “I became really close with him over the years, spent a lot of all-star breaks together. I’m proud of what he was able to accomplish. 

“Glad he got to come here and play in front of the hometown (fans) for a bit.

“He’s tall and lanky, but not an overly big guy, but he fought a lot of of tough guys and more than held his own. He was a leader in the locker room, from what I’ve heard in Philly and around here. Really happy I got to become friends with him.”

Simmonds played in 1,037 NHL games with Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Nashville, New Jersey, Buffalo and Toronto, recording 526 points and 1,313 penalty minutes. 

SHIFTING BALANCE OF POWER

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With the Leafs mired in a power-play slump, scoring once in 24 opportunities in their past nine games, Keefe has no choice but to make some changes to the power-play units. 

Rielly has been taken off the No. 1 unit to run the second group, while Timothy Liljegren will man the point on the top unit. Tyler Bertuzzi is back on the No. 1 unit as well, with Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares.

Max Domi, Matthew Knies, Nick Robertson and Bobby McMann are the forwards with Rielly on the second unit. 

“With Liljegren the right shot at the top (of the first group), and with some of our movement, especially losing the righty with Mitch (Marner’s injury), we think it’s important with Auston and Willie’s ability to shoot and finish that having another right shot is helpful,” Keefe said. “We get Morgan working with the other group and give that group a boost too.”

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The Leafs, despite their struggles, were fifth in the NHL before games on Monday with a power-play conversion rate of 26.1%.

“There’s no lack of confidence,” Rielly said. “We’re going to stick with it, keep working at it, and it’s going to go for us eventually.

“If you look back at the last two games, we moved it around pretty well and we’ve got chances, it just hasn’t gone for us.”

WOLL NOT CAPPED OUT

As the Leafs departed for Philadelphia on Monday afternoon, the expectation was that Ilya Samsonov would start against the Flyers on Tuesday, followed by Joseph Woll getting the nod in Washington against the Capitals on Wednesday.

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Woll’s next start will be his first since March 7 in Boston, with the time off between games in the past 12 days a product of both a gap in the Leafs schedule and the fine play of Samsonov. 

Woll also will get a start this weekend, as the Leafs play back-to-back against the Edmonton Oilers at home on Saturday and against the Carolina Hurricanes on the road on Sunday. 

“After playing a couple of games (since coming back from an ankle injury), he has been able to take a step back and continue to work on his game,” Keefe said. “I think he’s in a good place mentally.”

That would appear to be the case for the 25-year-old Woll, whose outlook always includes positivity.

If he does start in Washington, Woll will recall the Leafs’ 4-1 win in D.C. on Oct. 24, when he made 37 saves. Alex Ovechkin had no less than 14 shots on goal that night — a season-high for the Caps star — and scored the only Washington goal on one of them.

“Playing teams for the first time in my career is always exciting, especially with someone like Ovechkin,” Woll said. “There was a lot of excitement for me going into it. He shoots the puck a lot, is what I learned from that game, so I’ll be ready for it.”

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