Wayne Simmonds
Wayne Simmonds | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 26, 1988 Scarborough, Ontario, Canada |
| Other names | "Wayne Train" |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey player (retired) |
| Years active | 2008–2023 |
| Known for | NHL right winger for Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs |
Wayne Simmonds (born August 26, 1988) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey right winger. His NHL career spanned from 2008 to 2023, during which he played for the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Amid the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Simmonds competed in European leagues with ETC Crimmitschau and HC Bílí Tygři Liberec. He is commonly known by the nickname "Wayne Train."
Early life
Raised in Scarborough, Ontario, Simmonds attended Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute. He is one of five siblings—three brothers and one sister—born to Cyril Simmonds and Wanda Mercury-Simmonds. His family roots trace back to North Preston, Nova Scotia. Although growing up near Toronto, Simmonds primarily supported the Detroit Red Wings, particularly admiring Sergei Fedorov.
By third grade, he had already declared his intention to pursue a career in professional hockey, undaunted by discouragement from a teacher.
During his youth hockey years on Toronto’s east side, Simmonds mainly played at the A and AA levels, including with the Minor Midget Toronto Aces in the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) during the 2003–04 season. Following the advancement of several AAA players to junior hockey, he progressed to AAA level with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens midget team in 2004–05.
Amateur
After being scouted at the 2005 Telus Cup Regional Midget tournament, Mike McCourt recruited Simmonds for the 2005–06 season with the Brockville Braves of the Central Junior A Hockey League. Despite not being selected in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Draft initially, he was later picked 114th overall by the Owen Sound Attack in the 2006 OHL Priority Selection.
Simmonds spent two seasons (2006–08) competing in the OHL with both the Owen Sound Attack and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He also represented Canada at the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. During this period, he formed a business alliance with teammate Chris Stewart, with whom he later ventured into real estate investments in Toronto.
Los Angeles Kings
Selected 61st overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Simmonds earned a spot on their roster as one of three rookies for the 2008–09 campaign. He netted his first NHL goal on October 14, 2008, quickly gaining popularity among fans due to his relentless work ethic—a quality attributed to his upbringing.
In his sophomore NHL season, Simmonds focused on enhancing his offensive contributions, nearly doubling his points total to 40 during the 2009–10 season. He led the team in plus-minus rating and played a crucial role on penalty kills. When trade talks involving superstar Ilya Kovalchuk arose, Atlanta Thrashers identified Simmonds as a valuable asset, highlighting his increasing worth within the league.
Philadelphia Flyers
On June 23, 2011, Simmonds was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers along with Brayden Schenn and a second-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, in exchange for Mike Richards and Rob Bordson. As a restricted free agent at that time, he signed a two-year deal averaging $1.75 million per year.
During a pre-season game held in September 2011 in London, Ontario, an incident occurred where a fan threw a banana onto the ice during Simmonds’ shootout attempt—an act widely perceived as racist. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman publicly condemned this behavior as unrepresentative of fans or the city. The individual responsible faced penalties under Ontario's Trespass to Property Act.
Simmonds achieved a Gordie Howe hat trick on February 11, 2012, despite a 5–2 defeat against the New York Rangers. On March 30 of that year, he was credited with scoring after a puck deflected off his forehead during a game versus the Ottawa Senators.
The Flyers secured Simmonds’ services long-term by signing him to a six-year contract extension on August 15, 2012, worth approximately $4 million annually.
During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, he played overseas with ETC Crimmitschau (2nd Bundesliga) and HC Bílí Tygři Liberec (Czech Extraliga). In one match, fans directed racist chants at him; this led to official apologies from Chomutov and bans imposed on eight individuals involved.
On February 20 and again on February 23, 2013, Simmonds recorded consecutive Gordie Howe hat tricks against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Winnipeg Jets, demonstrating both scoring ability and physical toughness.
He reached personal bests of 60 points during both the 2013–14 NHL season and 2015–16 NHL season. Known for his aggressive style of play, he led Philadelphia with 147 penalty minutes in 2015–16. In February of that year, he received a game misconduct penalty after punching Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh, though he avoided suspension.
Simmonds was selected to represent Philadelphia at the 2017 NHL All-Star Game, where he earned MVP honors by scoring three goals including the decisive game-winner.
Throughout the entirety of the 2017–18 NHL season, despite contending with multiple injuries such as torn pelvis and groin muscles, fractured ankle, torn thumb ligament, and broken jaw, Simmonds still managed to exceed 40 points. His leadership qualities that season earned him a nomination for the prestigious Mark Messier Leadership Award.
Nashville Predators
On February 25, 2019, the Flyers traded Wayne Simmonds to the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Ryan Hartman and a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. This transaction aligned with Nashville's objective to boost their power play effectiveness and physical presence during the 2018–19 campaign. Upon joining the Predators, Simmonds was amid a 16-game goal drought, which extended by an additional eight games until he scored in a 3–0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 20. He wrapped up the regular season with one goal and two assists across 17 games played for Nashville.
During the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, Simmonds took part but exited Game 2 of the first-round series against the Dallas Stars after sustaining a knee injury caused by a teammate’s slapshot and was subsequently listed as week-to-week. The Stars eliminated Nashville in six games. Combining his time with Philadelphia and Nashville, Simmonds tallied 17 goals and 30 points over 79 games that season and was honored with the NHL’s 2019 Mark Messier Leadership Award for his exemplary leadership both on and off the ice.
New Jersey Devils
On July 1, 2019, Simmonds signed a one-year contract worth $5 million as a free agent with the New Jersey Devils. When facing his former team, the Philadelphia Flyers, on October 9, 2019, he was greeted with a tribute video and applause before being met with boos, sparked by a viral comment. The Flyers defeated New Jersey by a score of 4–0. Throughout 61 appearances for the Devils, Simmonds contributed eight goals and added 16 assists, totaling 24 points.
Buffalo Sabres
As the Devils fell out of playoff contention by the February 24 trade deadline, Simmonds was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, which was later used to select Topias Vilén. He participated in seven games before the season was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, registering one assist and a minus-four plus-minus rating. The Sabres did not qualify for participation in the NHL’s Return to Play format for the 2020 postseason.
Toronto Maple Leafs
While keen to remain with Buffalo, Simmonds explored opportunities ahead of free agency opening on October 9, 2020. He ultimately signed a one-year deal worth $1.5 million with the Toronto Maple Leafs, turning down a more lucrative offer from the Montreal Canadiens to join his hometown franchise. Since his customary number 17 had been retired by Toronto, he opted for number 24. Simmonds began the 2020–21 NHL season strongly, scoring five goals in his first 12 games while playing on the second line alongside John Tavares and William Nylander. His progress was interrupted on February 6 when he suffered a fractured wrist in a game against the Vancouver Canucks. After an absence spanning 18 games, he returned on March 19 but transitioned to a bottom-six role and scored once more during April. Toronto advanced to the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, initially leading Montreal three games to one before ultimately losing in seven contests.
Approaching free agency again, Simmonds secured a two-year contract extension worth $1.8 million with Toronto on June 29, 2021. He marked his 1,000th NHL game on March 5, 2022—the same day as future teammate Mark Giordano reached this milestone. On May 4, Toronto nominated him for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in recognition of his leadership contributions both on and off the ice. During the 2022–23 NHL season, injuries restricted him to just 18 appearances; he was frequently scratched from lineups, placed on waivers multiple times, and assigned to Toronto’s AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. At season’s conclusion, Simmonds entered unrestricted free agency.
Retirement
On March 18, 2024, Simmonds officially declared his departure from professional ice hockey, having previously indicated in January that his playing days were over. Subsequently, on April 12, he signed a symbolic one-day contract to formally retire as a Philadelphia Flyers player.
Regular season and playoffs
2012–13 Czech Extraliga season ("|2021–22 NHL season") ("|Toronto Maple Leafs") ("|NHL") ("|72")("|5")("|11")("|16")("|96") ("|2022–23 NHL season") ("|Toronto Maple Leafs") ("|NHL") ("|18")("|0")("|2")("|2")("|49")| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2004–05 | Toronto Jr. Canadiens | GTHL | 67 | 32 | 40 | 72 | 97 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Brockville Braves | CJHL | 49 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 127 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 12 | ||
| 2006–07 | Owen Sound Attack | OHL | 66 | 23 | 26 | 49 | 112 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2007–08 | Owen Sound Attack | OHL | 29 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 31 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 68 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 22 | ||
| 2008–09 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 82 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 78 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 116 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 2010–11 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 80 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 75 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 20 | ||
| 2011–12 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 82 | 28 | 21 | 49 | 114 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 38 | ||
| 2012–13 | ETC Crimmitschau | 2.GBun | 9 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 35 | |||||||
| HC Bílí Tygři Liberec | Czech Extraliga | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | ||||||||
| "2012–13 NHL season" | "Philadelphia Flyers" | "NHL" | "15"|"17"|"32"|"82" | |||||||||||
| "2013–14 NHL season" | "Philadelphia Flyers" | "NHL" | "29"|"31"|"60"|"106" | |||||||||||
| "2014–15 NHL season" | "Philadelphia Flyers" | "NHL" | "28"|"22"|"50"|"66" | |||||||||||
| "2015–16 NHL season" | "Philadelphia Flyers" | "NHL" | "32"|"28"|"60"|"147" | |||||||||||
| "2016–17 NHL season" | "Philadelphia Flyers" | "NHL" | "31"|"23"|"54"|"122" | |||||||||||
| "2017–18 NHL season" | "Philadelphia Flyers" | "NHL" | "24"|"22"|"46"|"57" | |||||||||||
| "2018–19 NHL season" | "Philadelphia Flyers" | "NHL" | 16"|11"|27"|90" | |||||||||||
| "2018–19" | "Nashville Predators" | "NHL" | 1"|2"|3"|9" | |||||||||||
| "2019–20 NHL season" | "New Jersey Devils" | "NHL" | 8"|16"|24"|64" | |||||||||||
| "2019–20" | "Buffalo Sabres" | "NHL" | 0"|1"|1"|2" | |||||||||||
| "2020–21 NHL season" | "Toronto Maple Leafs" | "NHL" | 7"|2"|9"|45" | |||||||||||
| NHL totals | 1,037 | 263 | 263 | 526 | 1,313 | 53 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 122 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Tournament | Outcome | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Canada | WJC | Template:Gold1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2013 | Canada | WC | 5th place | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2017 | Canada | WC | Template:Silver2 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Junior career totals | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Senior career totals | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| OHL | |
| Third All-Star Team selection | 2008 |
| NHL | |
| NHL All-Star | 2017 |
| All-Star Game MVP | 2017 |
| Mark Messier Leadership Award | 2019 |