Flyers' Wayne Simmonds returns to Los Angeles an NHL all-star
Rugged right winger Wayne Simmonds was initially disappointed by the 2011 deal that sent him from Los Angeles to the Flyers.
Rugged right winger Wayne Simmonds was initially disappointed by the 2011 deal that sent him from Los Angeles to the Flyers.
Today, you sense it was the best thing that happened to him in his ascending NHL career.
"Couldn't be happier with the way things turned out," he said.
On Sunday, Simmonds, who leads the Flyers with 21 goals and has become one of the league's elite power forwards, will return to L.A. and play in his first All-Star Game.
"I can't imagine a better player or person to represent the Philadelphia Flyers and what we're all about," coach Dave Hakstol said. "He's earned it. Wayne has earned it in every area, off the ice, on the ice. And I'm sure he'll be proud as he heads back to L.A. for the All-Star Game. And he should be."
Two years ago, Flyers right winger Jake Voracek went back to Columbus, where he played for three years, and competed in his first All-Star Game.
Now Simmonds is going to enjoy the same experience, though he will be hard-pressed to match the performance of Voracek, who equaled an All-Star Game record with six points.
"I guess you can say it's kind of a validation" Simmonds, 28, said about being a first-time all-star.
Simmonds' career has blossomed with the Flyers. He is on pace to score 34 goals this season. If you prorate his totals for the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, he has averaged 29 goals in the last five years.
"I definitely think coming to the East Coast allowed people to see my game more," Simmonds said. "I think people kind of watch a little bit more on the East Coast than they do on the West Coast. Playing at 10:30 every night, people don't get to really see what all those guys [on the West Coast] have to bring out there."
Simmonds was primarily a defensive specialist with the Kings.
This season, only eight NHL players have more goals than Simmonds, and his 10 power-play tallies are tied for second in the league. The Ontario native is also being used as a penalty killer.
"I obviously have a way bigger role" than in Los Angeles, Simmonds said. "I came from a checking-line guy to an offensive guy to a full 200-foot player. It's an evolution."
Simmonds recently became engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Crystal Corey. She will accompany him to Los Angeles.
"Obviously it's pretty cool," he said. ". . . She probably got out there one or two times, so this will be a chance for her and I to enjoy it."
Back when he and Brayden Schenn were acquired as part of the deal that sent captain Mike Richards (now out of hockey) to Los Angeles, Simmonds was at his uncle's Prince Edward Island cottage when then-Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren told him about the trade in a phone call.
Simmonds said his phone reception was "kind of shoddy and I talked to Homer a bit. Then I got a call from the Kings. I think I talked to Hexy first."
He was referring to current Flyers general manager Ron Hextall, who was then an assistant general manager in L.A. He later talked with Dean Lombardi, the Los Angeles GM.
"It was just kind of a 'Thank you for what you've done.' I appreciated the chance I got in L.A., and I was moving on," Simmonds said.
Simmonds conceded he was "pretty down" when he learned about the trade. "When you get traded from your first organization, the team that drafted you and kind of cultivated most of your game, it sucks," he said. "You have friends there, you have roots in the community, and you've built strong bonds.
"But to come to an organization like the Flyers, I knew it was a first-class organization. A lot of the guys from L.A. actually came from Philly, so I had a lot of good insight, and a lot of great things were said about Philly, and it didn't take me too long to realize that Philly was awesome."
Six seasons later, a lot of great things are being said about the hardworking player who has swayed the trade heavily in the Flyers' favor.
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