Last season, Wayne Simmonds struggled for an extended period of time with the Los Angeles Kings before finding success again on the third line with Brad Richardson and Kyle Clifford. The hard-nosed trio helped win a number of crucial games in April as the Kings fought to make the playoffs.
Following a quarterfinal loss to the San Jose Sharks, Kings’ coach Terry Murray spoke candidly about Simmonds’ play over the course of the season. An excerpt from the LA Kings Insider:
“He had a bit of a lull. I don’t know if he took a step backwards. Maybe half a step. I thought, in the first couple years, there was a lot of physical involvement, a lot of grit, a lot more confrontational stuff. Sometimes you have to get into that ‘Eff you’ battle all the time on the ice… I don’t want to say it’s a natural progression for young players, where you come in with a big bang and now you’re trying to sort it out, trying to improve… but now you have to analyze your own self and your own game, and watch your game again, bring the game home with yourself and analyze it so you can have yourself ready and bring yourself back to where we want you to be.”
In other words, Simmonds had stopped playing the way he needed to in order to be successful in the NHL. He wasn’t playing physically, he wasn’t getting under the skin of his opponents, and he wasn’t utilizing his skills as a power forward.
After the 9-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets last Saturday, in which almost half the team had a goal, Simmonds commented, “I think when I get upset, I get more focused and I tend to do the right things. If I’m kinda allowed to sleep, I’m not playing the right way so every night I got to find a motivator for me to keep going… I think when I’m playing physically, that’s when I’m on my game and if I’m not doing that, I’m not going to be the same player.”
With just 3 goals and 6 points in 15 games, Simmonds is currently on pace for similar results to his previous season- 16 goals and 32 points compared to last season’s 30 points. The fact that the Flyers decided to sign him for two seasons compared to Jake Voracek’s one suggests they have more hope that Simmonds will pan out in the long-term, but right now he is sputtering just like he did on the west coast.
So what’s it going to take to get Simmonds back on track? For starters, the Flyers need to utilize his talents similarly to how he found success in LA- as a hard-checking, relentless third line winger. If Simmonds spends the rest of the season with Matt Read and either Max Talbot or Brayden Schenn, he should (in theory) be able to simplify his responsibilities, rather than try to extend himself and connect with Danny Briere as a top six forward.
Second, Simmonds needs to consistently play on the edge more than he has. It’s been clear this season that, provided he doesn’t needlessly take on cinder blocks like George Parros, he has the size and fearlessness to win most bouts with his opponents. If playing physically motivates him, why deviate from that?
Even if playing on the third line cuts into his even strength minutes, he has shown that he can be very useful on the powerplay if he fights for his spot in the crease. It’s an area that would be worth keeping a further eye on.
The pace that Simmonds has set is by no means “bad,” but if he is going to truly elevate his game and help win a Stanley Cup, he’s going to have to get back to basics and, as Terry Murray so eloquently stated, “back to where we want you to be.”
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