Toronto Maple Leafs should sign Wayne Simmonds
Signing Wayne Simmonds would make a lot of sense for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
This offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs need to add more to their roster that failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, since they don’t have much cap space and they’ll be dedicating most of their offseason spending to their defense, they’ll have to find some cheap options if they want to add a forward. Jason Spezza served as one this year. Wayne Simmonds could very well do the same next season.
Though Spezza is a center and Simmonds is a wing, he would still make a lot of sense for a team that needs more physicality and veteran leadership. Spezza was a surprisingly effective player for the Maple Leafs in a fourth-line role and Simmonds could be one as well.
In a recent interview with The Athletic, Simmonds talked about his upcoming free agency and his desire to play with the Leafs.
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One key thing Simmonds will have to do if he wants to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs is adjust to the new NHL, which relies on speed. Simmonds has never been the fastest skater and at 32 years old, the speed he did have is starting to leave him.
That said, Simmonds could still be quite effective in a third or fourth line role for the Leafs. He’s coming off a weak season, but the same could have been said for Spezza.
Before signing with Toronto, Spezza had just 53 combined points in 154 games over the previous two seasons (27 in 2018-19 and 26 in 2017-18). With the Maple Leafs, Spezza had 25 games in just 58 games, so he was almost indefinitely going to pass his previous totals.
One thing the Toronto Maple Leafs have lacked in recent years is physicality. During the 2019-20 season, they threw just 1,189 hits, which was tied for the fourth-lowest total in the NHL. Defenseman Jake Muzzin had 109 hits, the most hits on the team. Compare that to Wayne Simmonds, who had 145 hits in 68 games split between the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres.
Simmonds is also a great leader in the locker room, as he is highly respected around the league. He won the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2018-19, which is given to “an individual who is a superior leader within their sport, and a contributing member of society”.
Simmonds clearly wants to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The feeling is most likely mutual. If Simmonds agrees to an inexpensive one-year or two-year deal and agrees to a lesser role on the team, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Maple Leafs sign him.