Simmonds believes this is the deepest hockey team he has ever been a part of and the team is so loaded that their "fifth line" can do damage in the NHL. Big words for someone who has been around the league for such a long time over his career, which shows his confidence in the upcoming season. It's a testament to this Leafs roster and the work of GM Kyle Dubas.
Simmonds spent his first 3 seasons with the Los Angeles Kings before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers as part of the Mike Richards trade. As the Kings won 2 Stanley Cups, he was in Philadelphia and truly came alive in the Orange and Black, staking his claim as one the perennial power-forwards in the league. After 8 seasons, he got traded to Nashville, spent some time in New Jersey and Buffalo, before coming home to Toronto.
With the likes of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, William Nylander, and Morgan Rielly amongst several other notables, it's no surprise that Simmonds feels as though this is the best team he's been a part of. The Flyers teams he represented started and finished with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek with varying levels of depth along the way, followed by his pit-stops with Nasvhille and the lottery-bound Buffalo and New Jersey.
The Leafs have a slew of young-guns and wily veterans that make up the bottom-6 that might be the difference in their pursuit to advancing to the second round for the first time since 2003-04.
POLL | ||
7 OCTOBRE | 240 ANSWERS Wayne Simmonds says this Leafs team is the deepest team he's ever played for Does Wayne Simmonds make the opening night roster for the Leafs? | ||
Yes | 62 | 25.8 % |
No | 122 | 50.8 % |
He's waivers-bound unfortunately | 56 | 23.3 % |
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