Thank You, Wayne
Wayne Simmonds, where do we start.
Eight years ago, Mike Richards was traded to the Los Angeles Kings just a year after bringing the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Final. The fan base was understandably upset, their captain had been shipped off right on the heels of the team’s best run since 2004, and he was, at the time, the consummate captain for a team. The return needed to be something stellar for the fans to truly ever get on board with the idea of parting with Richards, and thankfully it was.
You have Wayne to thank for that.
Over the last eight seasons as a Flyer, Simmonds has been nothing short of a warrior, potting 378 points in 548 games as a member of the orange and black. Adding on to that is the 15 points in 30 playoff games he tallied in four trips to the playoffs with Philadelphia. He ranks 7th all-time in power-play goals as a Flyer, and was a menace in front of the net for his entire tenure, becoming one of the most efficient Power Play goal scorers in the league for an extended period. He was top 10 in the league in Power Play goals four times, and was top 10 in penalty minutes three times. Most importantly, Simmonds was an all-star in 2017, an honor not typically bestowed on a player like Simmonds, who wasn’t really ever a player who dazzled with skill and flair. No, Wayne Simmonds was all heart, he fought an uphill battle to get to the NHL in the first place, he didn’t even play rep hockey until his teenage years, but even still he became one of the most universally beloved Flyers to ever don the sweater.
Simmonds was the perfect teammate by all accounts, a leader on the ice just as much as on it, he was always the first one to jump in and protect a line mate or fellow Flyer. This was never more evident than just over a week ago, where after Anthony Mantha leveled captain Claude Giroux into the boards during the first half of a home-and-home, Simmonds came right out the next night and dropped the gloves with Mantha. Acts like these summed up just how important Simmonds was to the team, even when his play slipped or he wasn’t as effective scoring, everyone stood a little taller when they knew “Simmer” was on the bench. Simmonds was much more than that though, he was a vocal leader in a locker room that was tumultuous at times, and even when the team struggled, he did his best to try and right the ship, even when the waters were rocky.
Saturday’s Stadium Series match up with the Penguins was a massive game, both in meaning and in the standings. The Flyers had an opportunity to both close the gap on a playoff spot against a team they were chasing, in addition to getting a win against their biggest rival. Add onto that the possibility of the team securing their first win in an outdoor game and you have a borderline classic. However, the bittersweet undertone was the fact that there were multiple players who may have been playing their last game in the orange and black, chief among them being Wayne Simmonds. Despite being down 3-1 late in the third, the Flyers roared back to win 4-3, with goals ironically coming from three of Simmonds oldest Flyers teammates, James Van Riemsdyk, Jake Voracek, and of course the Overtime winner from Claude Giroux. The one play however, that will no doubt stick in fans minds for months to come, came when Simmonds lined up Brian Dumoulin along the boards, demolishing him with a devastating shoulder check that knocked him out of the game, giving the Flyers a noticeable advantage for the rest of the night. It was a fitting last memory to be gifted by Wayne, a summation of his time here in one final play.
Post-game, the Flyers gave out the player of the game helmet as they usually do. First the helmet went to the captain, who decided to hand it off to Jake Voracek, upon receiving it, Voracek then gave a speech talking about one of his best friends for 8 years who deserved it just a little more, he then passed the helmet to Wayne Simmonds. A visibly emotional Simmonds then gave a speech about how big of a win him and his squad had just accomplished, the magnitude of the victory was not lost on him. Finally he added in that he hoped he would still be here after 3 PM on Feburary 25th, and either way for his brothers to keep pushing and to keep up the fight for the playoffs, it was truly a storybook ending.
On and off the ice, Wayne Simmonds was the embodiment of what it meant to be a Philadelphia Flyer, in just eight years, the kid from Newmarket, Ontario became a Philadelphian forever, serving the city and its team faithfully while giving it 110% in everything he did here. Not often do you see a player who can bring a crowd to its feet in as many different ways as the Wayne Train did, and for that and so much else, we will never forget him.
Thank You Wayne Simmonds, For Everything.
FEATURED IMAGE: Patrick Smith, Getty Images
Discover more from Philadelphia Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.