Wayne Simmonds has rebounded nicely this season; can he maintain his solid play post-pause?
Veteran winger Wayne Simmonds has had a solid season with the Leafs so far. Between his physicality, his willingness to stand up for teammates, and offensive production, Simmonds has been playing some of his best hockey as a Leaf this season. The question is; after the COVID-19 pause for the Leafs, will Simmonds come back just as strong?
Simmonds got off to a great start last season and made his presence felt quickly when he fought Ben Chiarot in the home opener. He was having a great bounce back season before he suffered a broken wrist, caused by a deflection off of his own teammate's shot in a game against the Vancouver Canucks. Simmonds never had the same magic once he returned from that injury and it was clear that he wasn't the same player as a result.
Simmonds put on a good performance against the Habs in the playoffs but many wondered how much the Scarborough native had left in the tank. After a long offseason, Simmonds came back this year looking like the Simmonds we saw early last season. He's been physical, he was effective at generating chances and recently the puck has been going in the net more for him. While he currently has just 4 goals on the season, he could just as easily have 9 or 10.
Last season we saw an injury derail what was initially a great season for Simmonds. The question is, which Simmonds will we see coming back off of a stint on COVID-19 protocol?
We saw that extended rest over the summer benefitted Simmonds and the physical style he plays. The hope is that the the COVID-19 pause can do the same for him, allowing him to rest and recover, with the Scarborough native coming back as fresh as he looked at the start of the year.
The 32-year-old logged just under 11 minutes of ice time in his return to action against the Sens on Saturday, but was limited to just 1 shot on goal. He did add 2 hits in the contest, but was largely invisible, outside of a few good shifts. Hopefully he can shake this one off and come back strong against the Oilers on Wednesday.
Simmonds has managed to record 10 points in 30 games this season, playing mostly 4th line minutes. Given the fact that he's not given many offensive zone starts, I'd say that's pretty solid production from a depth guy.
