Simmonds facing a potential cut; Has the Wayne Train stalled in Toronto?

With all the new talent on the horizon and limited roster spots for the Leafs, this creates the question; Is the Wayne Train done in Toronto? Wayne Simmonds, a six-foot-two right-handed enforcer, signed a two-year $1,800,000 contract with the Maple Leafs on June 29th 2021 (a $900K AAV). Simmonds has been a part of the Leafs' organization since the 2020 season, and has tallied 25 points and 141 penalty minutes in a total of 110 games. This will be Simmonds third year in a Maple Leafs uniform. He is set to hit free agency at the end of the 2022-23 NHL season.

Throughout the current pre-season, Simmonds has played only two out of the five pre-season games for the Maple Leafs. Most notably, Simmonds was left out of Monday night's roster against the Montreal Canadiens. This Leafs roster was the closest we've seen to a complete lineup for the Buds and they won in dominating fashion by a score of 5-1. This could be a sign that Simmonds is among the outside looking in. The Leafs have simply obtained better options since signing Simmonds to that contract. Players like Zach Aston-Reese and Nicolas Aube-Kubel bring both a higher floor and a higher ceiling in comparison to Simmonds at this stage of his career. They are younger, play with consistent physicality, and are much stronger options defensively. When slotting these two into the already deep Maple Leafs lineup, they can do everything Simmonds can on a nightly basis, but better. The only real edge Simmonds might have here is his fighting ability - but even then, fights are not exactly as prominent a part of the game as they once were.

Diving deeper into the Leafs potential lineup, the fight for the bottom six continues as there is little to no wiggle room for players like Simmonds and Clifford, who are on the downslope of their careers. Guys like Nick Robertson, Alex Steeves, and Denis Malgin have more talent and could ultimately push the Maple Leafs to go in a different direction when forming their bottom six.

Although Simmonds is under contract, there are still the option to put him on waivers and assign him to the AHL Toronto Marlies. A trade is also possible. As the NHL season is less than a week away, it'll be interesting to see where Simmonds ends up.

Credit : NHL.com, capfriendly.com