Maple Leafs react to Wayne Simmonds' retirement announcement

Best known for his days in a Flyers sweater, Simmonds spent his first 3 seasons with the Los Angeles Kings before 8 solid years in Philadelphia. He wound up spending the final 5 years of his career with pit stops in Nashville, New Jersey, and Buffalo before finishing things off in Toronto. By the time he signed with the Maple Leafs, he was a shell of his former self, which was a prolific power forward who scored 25-30 goals perennially and often tallied over 100+ PIMs a season.

Nevertheless, if there was one thing to take away from yesterday's announcement it's that his colleagues hold him to the highest regard as a player, a teammate, and a friend.

Simmonds was a tough player to play against and that was evidenced by his 1,313 PIMs, 1,913 hits, and many many fighting majors. He was also a leader in the locker room even dating back to his early days with the Flyers where he sported the "A" between 2014-15 and 2018-19. One of those aforementioned colleagues in Toronto was Morgan Rielly, who played with Simmonds in his final 3 years and had nothing but glowing remarks:

Head coach, Sheldon Keefe, was also an admirer and appreciated what Simmonds brought to the team on and off the ice:

Simmonds' career came to an end with 263 goals - 102 on the power play - and 526 points in 1,037 games across 15 seasons. He enjoyed a successful stretch between 2011-12 and 2017-18 where he scored 187 goals and 351 points in 522 games with 694 PIMs and 995 hits, which included 2 seasons with 30+ goals and another 3 seasons with 28+ tallies.

He was one of the better power forwards during his time and will be forever remembered for his tenacity, aggressiveness, and knack for scoring huge power play goals.