Fan favorite Wayne Simmonds has announced his retirement from the NHL after playing 1,037 games. Simmonds was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round of the 2007 draft. After spending three seasons with the Kings Simmonds was traded to the Flyers along with Bryden Schenn for Mike Richards. Simmonds first season with the Flyers (2011-2012) was one of the most notable seasons in recent Flyers history.
Two years after their run to the Stanley Cup Final the Flyers made wholesale changes by trading away their two of their best players in Jeff Carter and Mike Richards in exchange for Jake Voracek and Wayne Simmonds. The 2012 season was also marked by the stand out rookie seasons for Brayden Schenn, Matt Read and Sean Couturier. This was also the one season that Jarimir Jagr played for the Flyers in his return to the NHL. 13 games into the season newly appointed captain Chris Pronger suffered a career ending injury, which lead to Claude Giroux being named captain the next season, a title that he held for ten seasons. The 2012 season is notable for the Flyers with the Winter Classic played at Citizens Bank Park and the team’s playoff run beating the Penguins in an electric first round matchup. Simmonds was known as a great leader on and off the ice by giving back to the community. Simmonds was the Flyers All Star representative in 2017 where he won the MVP award.
Simmonds played 8 seasons and 584 games in Philadelphia. His final game as a Flyer was the 2019 Stadium Series game at Lincoln Financial Field where he was traded to the Predators at the deadline. Simmonds would then spend one year with the Devils and one with the Sabres before finishing his career with the Maple Leafs. Simmonds elected to retire after several injures plagued him late in his career. Wayne’s last game was in April of 2023.
The Flyers will sign Wayne Simmonds to a one day contract on April 13th as the Flyers take on the Devils to celebrate his career so that he can retire as a member of the team he had the most success with.
Matt Slocum AP