According to a team release, Simmonds has formally declared his retirement and will sign a one-day contract with
the Flyers. On April 13, the second-to-last home game of Philadelphia’s season, he will sign the deal and be honored
by the team.
January 26: Wayne Simmonds, a free agent winger, informed Joshua Clipperton of The Canadian Press on Friday
that he will not be extending his 15-year NHL career. Although he hasn’t submitted his paperwork for retirement to
the league yet, the 35-year-old has stated he won’t try to make a comeback.
Simmonds made 18 games for the Maple Leafs during his final season in 2022–2023. The native of Scarborough,
Ontario, signed a two-year, $1.8 million contract extension with Toronto in June 2021, and after that, he became a
UFA.
Over his NHL career, he played for six different teams. First among them was the Kings, who took him with the last
pick of the second round of the 2007 draft from Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League. In 66 games, he
scored 49 points and totaled 112 penalty minutes.
Simmonds returned to junior hockey for the next season, when he scored points per game for the first time and
helped Canada win gold at the 2008 World Junior Championship. The Kings decided it was sufficient of a
development leap, and they added Simmonds to their opening-night roster in Although the Kings had a difficult
season—they finished three games below.500 and averaged just 2.46 goals per game—Simmonds’ debut campaign
held promise. Despite not being considered for the Calder Trophy, he participated in all 82 games and scored 23
points in a bottom-six role.
While not his most memorable season, his sophomore year was a significant improvement. Simmonds scored 16
goals and 40 points in 2009–10, along with 116 PIMs, to help propel the Kings attack from 28th to eighth place.
Along with finishing with a team-high +22 rating, he received a few votes for the Selke Trophy.
In the third and final season of his entry-level contract, however, he regressed slightly, with goal and point output
falling to 14 and 30, respectively. In the 2011 offseason, the Kings traded established top-six threat Mike Richards to
the Flyers for center prospect Brayden Schenn and Simmonds, ending their late 2000s rebuild and aiming to
assemble a more experienced core around Anže Kopitar and Drew Doughty.
With Richards leading their second line for the following three seasons, the Kings benefited greatly from the deal and
went on to win two Stanley Cups. Simmonds, who scored 28 goals in his debut season with Philadelphia, also found
success with it.
After signing a six-year, $23.85 million contract with the Flyers two years after the trade, Simmonds elevated to the
status of one of the league’s most visible power forwards and finally eclipsed the 30-goal threshold twice. Over the
course of his 584 games with the Flyers, he scored 203 goals, 175 assists, and 378 points. He also regularly played in
the top six minutes and demonstrated strong leadership qualities by winning the Mark Messier Leadership Award
during his final season on the team.
However, it became evident at the end of the extension that Simmonds was in an early decline. After a 32-goal, 60-
point season in 2015–16, his totals had been declining progressively, and the Flyers made the decision to part ways
with the fan favorite close to the 2019 trade deadline. They gave him over to the Hunters, who Simmonds played in a
diminished capacity with the Devils, Sabres, and Maple Leafs during the next four seasons, with his ice time falling
below 10 minutes per game by the 2021–2022 campaign. During the 2022–2023 season, he was waived twice. He
finished his career with two assists in 18 games.
After 1,037 games, he finishes his NHL career with 263 goals, 263 assists, 526 points, and 1,313 PIMs. For his career,
he tallied 22 points in 53 playoff games.
PHR congratulates Simmonds on a successful and long NHL career and wishes him well in his post-hockey future.
