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Wayne Simmonds

Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Pontus Holmberg

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Looking for a change, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Pontus Holmberg from the AHL. To make room, Wayne Simmonds has been sent back to the Toronto Marlies. Simmonds cleared waivers at the beginning of the season, so can be assigned freely for the time being.

Holmberg, 23, has turned into an interesting prospect for the Maple Leafs. A sixth-round pick in 2018, he developed into a star player in Sweden, winning a league championship and being named playoff MVP. He followed up the impressive postseason performance with a 41-point season, and even got a taste of North American hockey with a six-game look with the Toronto Marlies last spring.

Still, despite all that success, it’s hard to imagine Holmberg really being the key to unlocking the Maple Leafs this season. At best he is probably an upgrade in the bottom six, capable of playing center or wing. But with just two assists in seven games with the Marlies this season, the offensive upside of a player like Holmberg is limited.

With Toronto struggling to score at even-strength (and in general), they’ll need their stars to play better – not just the bottom-six.

Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Three Players

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced the recalls of three skaters this morning, calling up forwards Nicholas Robertson and Wayne Simmonds, as well as defenseman Victor Mete. These moves come after starting netminder Matt Murray was placed on long-term injured reserve yesterday, a move that gave a cap-strapped Maple Leafs team some more breathing room under the salary cap.

Toronto had been operating with a roster holding the bare-minimum eighteen skaters and two goalies. Now, with this move, the team is utilizing all 23 of its allocated roster spots thanks to the additional room Murray’s LTIR placement provided.

With these recalls, Robertson and Simmonds are likely to start off as Toronto’s 13th and 14th forwards. In those roles, Robertson would likely fill in for any absences on the Maple Leafs’ scoring lines, while Simmonds would fill in for any absences in the team’s bottom six.

We covered earlier this month how the Maple Leafs were shopping Simmonds, a 1019-game veteran, but perhaps now that Simmonds has a place on Toronto’s NHL roster there won’t be the same sort of push to find a deal for him.

As for Mete, he was called up to in all likelihood serve as the team’s seventh defenseman. That’s a role that the 24-year-old should be able to handle capably, as he has had a place in NHL lineups since making his debut with the Montreal Canadiens in 2017-18.

The Maple Leafs are 2-1-0 and widely expected to be among the league’s best teams, although there has been concern about how well the team’s depth would hold up against the rigors of the NHL regular season. Now, we will see the organization’s depth face its first real test as these three players assume their roles as spare skaters in Toronto.

Maple Leafs Notes: Bunting, Goalies, Simmonds

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In the 2021 offseason, Michael Bunting had strong interest but at a limited price tag having only had less than a half-season of NHL playing time under his belt.  He signed a two-year deal with Toronto, one that has already become one of the top bargains in the league at a cost of $950K per season.  The 27-year-old is a year away from testing the market again where his market will be much stronger.  That said, he told reporters including Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun, that his preference is to remain with the Maple Leafs:

I’m a Toronto boy, I love playing for the Maple Leafs. This is my home. It’s so much fun putting on that sweater every single night and that’s what I will say about it.

Bunting finished third in Calder Trophy voting last season after putting up 20 goals and 43 assists in 79 games.  A similar showing this year on Toronto’s top line could put him in a position to command $5MM or more in free agency next summer which could make it tricky for the Maple Leafs to keep him around in that situation.

More from Toronto:

  • Goaltender Matt Murray is the scheduled starter tonight against his former team in Ottawa but Sports Illustrated’s David Alter reports (Twitter link) that Murray left the game-day skate early with a groin issue. Ilya Samsonov would get the nod if Murray can’t suit up for this game.  However, who would back him up would be in question as Erik Kallgren was injured in the AHL last night while Joseph Woll is still working his way back from injury as well.  Their only other NHL-contracted goaltender (Dennis Hildeby) is in Sweden so he’s off the table for tonight.  That means that if Murray can’t dress (and that hasn’t been ruled out just yet), they’ll either have to convert one of their AHL-contracted goalies (Keith Petruzzelli, Dryden McKay, or Dylan Ferguson) to an NHL deal and use a cap-exempt goalie recall (teams get two of those a season) or use an emergency backup (EBUG).  However, an NHL conversion would be tricky with the team at the 50-contract limit.
  • While the team sent winger Wayne Simmonds to the minors earlier this week, Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star notes that the veteran is not on Toronto’s AHL roster at this time. He’s currently skating with the injured Maple Leafs in the hopes of getting some clarity on what’s next for him.  In the short-term future, it doesn’t appear that seeing action with Marlies is in the plans.

Toronto Maple Leafs Shopping Wayne Simmonds

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According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Toronto Maple Leafs sent a league-wide email informing teams that veteran forward Wayne Simmonds is available for trade ahead of tomorrow’s opening-day roster deadline.

Per the aforementioned email, the Maple Leafs and general manager Kyle Dubas are less concerned with the return rather than “doing right by the player,” a theme the organization has committed to multiple times in recent years. While it usually has to do with giving European import players a chance for more minutes elsewhere, whether it be Mikko Lehtonen’s trade to the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2020-21 or Kirill Semyonov’s contract termination last year, it’s become a philosophy that helps them attract free agent talent.

The 34-year-old Simmonds is a veteran of 1,019 NHL games, which on its own makes him a valuable asset to teams around the league. Simmonds had five goals and 11 assists for 16 points in 72 games last year, while his ice time was limited to a minuscule 9:20 per game. With players like Nicholas Robertson, Denis Malgin, and Zach Aston-Reese standing out in Leafs training camp, Simmonds no longer fits into the picture as one of the team’s 12 best forwards. Considering Toronto needs to clear salary and roster space fast, it was a foregone conclusion that they’d need to move someone out to make room.

Simmonds is still looking for his first Stanley Cup, surely a driving factor in his desire to keep playing. He has one season remaining on a two-year contract with a $900,000 cap hit, and he currently carries a 10-team no-trade list.

2022 King Clancy Trophy Nominees Announced

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The NHL has announced the 31 nominees for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, annually presented to “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Last year’s winner was Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators.

Each team submits one nominee. This year’s are:

Anaheim Ducks: Ryan Getzlaf

Arizona Coyotes: Andrew Ladd

Boston Bruins: Nick Foligno

Buffalo Sabres: Jeff Skinner

Calgary Flames: Mikael Backlund

Carolina Hurricanes: Jordan Staal

Chicago Blackhawks: Connor Murphy

Colorado Avalanche: Nazem Kadri

Columbus Blue Jackets: Jack Roslovic

Dallas Stars: Jason Robertson

Detroit Red Wings: Alex Nedeljkovic

Edmonton Oilers: Darnell Nurse

Florida Panthers: Aleksander Barkov

Los Angeles Kings: Cal Petersen

Minnesota Wild: Matt Dumba

Montreal Canadiens: Jake Allen

Nashville Predators: Luke Kunin

New Jersey Devils: P.K. Subban

New York Islanders: Anders Lee

New York Rangers: Chris Kreider

Ottawa Senators: Nick Holden

Philadelphia Flyers: Scott Laughton

Pittsburgh Penguins: Bryan Rust

San Jose Sharks: Matt Nieto

Seattle Kraken: Jaden Schwartz

St. Louis Blues: Ryan O’Reilly

Tampa Bay Lightning: Victor Hedman

Toronto Maple Leafs: Wayne Simmonds

Vancouver Canucks: Bo Horvat

Vegas Golden Knights: Max Pacioretty

Washington Capitals: Garnet Hathaway

Winnipeg Jets: Josh Morrissey

Kyle Clifford, Wayne Simmonds Earn Fines

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Sometimes a game that has so much hype surrounding it can turn into something very different, very quickly. With so many talking about last night’s Toronto Maple Leafs-Tampa Bay Lightning game as a potential first-round preview, there was a buzz in the air when the game started. In the end, the Maple Leafs are just lucky to escape without any suspensions.

Both Kyle Clifford and Wayne Simmonds have earned fines today for incidents in last night’s game, which turned into a circus after Erik Kallgren allowed six straight goals in just over 20 minutes of gameplay. The game finished 8-1, with the Maple Leafs taking 63 minutes in penalties and the Lightning adding 49 of their own.

Clifford was fined $2,500 for his high-stick on Corey Perry, when he reached over the top of officials to get at the restrained Tampa Bay forward. Clifford was given a match penalty which comes with an automatic review, but Perry did not suffer an injury on the play. He will escape without a suspension, though his fine was the maximum allowable under the CBA.

For Simmonds, it’s a $2,250 fine for charging Mikhail Sergachev, a play that didn’t even result in a penalty from the on-ice officials. Simmonds did end up with 15 minutes in penalties, including a misconduct as the referees tried to get control of the game. He too will avoid a suspension, though, like any fine, this will be considered whenever there is another supplementary discipline decision.

Maple Leafs Place Wayne Simmonds And Jason Spezza In COVID Protocol

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The Maple Leafs will be without two more veterans for their game in Vancouver tonight as the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Wayne Simmonds and center Jason Spezza have been placed in COVID protocol.  They join center John Tavares and forward Alexander Kerfoot who were also placed there on Friday.

Simmonds has had a limited role this season but has been a bit more productive, notching four goals and six assists in 29 games despite averaging over 10 minutes a game.  Meanwhile, Spezza has put up similar numbers, collecting seven goals and four helpers in 26 contests.  He was set to make his return after the final two games of his suspension were overturned yesterday but now that will be on hold.  If subsequent testing also results in positive tests, the veterans will be out for at least 10 days.

Taking their place on the roster are forward Alex Steeves and defenseman Carl Dahlstrom who were both recalled from AHL Toronto.  Steeves got into three games with the Maple Leafs earlier this month after a strong start with the Marlies that has him averaging a point per game while Dahlstrom had been up with them briefly earlier this week before being sent back down on Tuesday.  With Mitch Marner currently on LTIR, Toronto has the short-term cap space to carry a full roster, a luxury that won’t be available to them when everyone is healthy.

No Supplemental Discipline For P.K. Subban, Marcus Foligno

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Despite considerable media attention paid to both situations, New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban and Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Foligno will not receive any discipline from recent altercations. The NHL Department of Player Safety has reviewed each scenario and determined that neither rises to the level of a suspension or fine.

In the case of Foligno, this appears to be a perfectly appropriate decision. The incident in question occurred on Saturday night as the Wild took on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Just as Foligno had jumped off for a change, a scrum ensued right in front of the Minnesota bench. Foligno got back on the ice to engage with the Leafs’ Wayne Simmonds. Typically, leaving the bench in this scenario would be a an automatic ten-game suspension, one of the NHL’s most harsh penalties. However, as The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports, the league did not consider this to be a case of Foligno leaving the bench, as no one had yet replaced him on the ice. Kirill Kaprizov was supposed to sub in for Foligno, but given the budding altercation in front of him smartly stayed put, which allowed Foligno, who was still straddling the boards, to legally get back on the ice. The Wild just narrowly avoided losing one of their veteran leaders for an extended period of time.

As for Subban, the lack of retribution from the league continues to be a strange phenomenon. Subban appeared to slew foot the Winnipeg Jets’ Nikolaj Ehlers on Friday night, though it was not called on the ice. The general understanding in this scenario is that the incident does not meet the league’s textbook definition of “slew foot”. Call what you will, but this shockingly marks his fourth dangerous trip this season. Yet, the veteran defenseman had not received any punishment and Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that this will continue with this latest incident. It remains a mystery how Subban continues to get off scot-free with obvious slew foots, especially when the Boston Bruins’ Brad Marchand recently received a three-game suspension for a slew foot that received no attention from the officials nor the visiting Vancouver Canucks. Seravalli states that extra attention is being paid by the league to both Subban and slew foots, yet it made no difference yet again.

Toronto Maple Leafs Extend Wayne Simmonds

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June 29: The team has made the contract extension official, signing Simmonds for two years. The deal carries an average annual value of just $900K, a significant decrease from last year and a reasonable number for the veteran forward. The entire cap hit is low enough that it could be buried in the minor leagues if necessary, but Simmonds will likely play a key role in Toronto’s bottom-six for the next while.

June 28: The Toronto Maple Leafs had several veteran forwards scheduled for unrestricted free agency this summer, but not all of them will reach the open market. The team already signed Jason Spezza to another one-year extension, and now Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the team is working on a deal with Wayne Simmonds.

Simmonds, 32, played on a one-year, $1.5MM contract with the Maple Leafs this season, but ended up struggling to provide much excess value. Things started quite well, with five goals in his first 12 games, but then Simmonds suffered a fluke injury that resulted in a broken wrist. He would miss nearly six weeks before making his return, and managed just two goals and four points in the final 26 games. In Toronto’s seven-game playoff series against Montreal, Simmonds registered just a single assist.

Teammates throughout his career have raved about Simmonds’ leadership qualities and his ability to improve the dynamics of a locker room, but those things are extremely difficult to quantify (especially when you consider that the veteran forward has never been on a team with much playoff success). The Maple Leafs obviously believe in his ability to help them get over that hump though, and certainly, for a near-minimum salary, it would make some sense. Toronto continues to need to navigate the salary cap carefully thanks to their expensive forward talent, meaning low-risk deals for players like Spezza and Simmonds are likely to come every offseason.

North Notes: Weber, Oilers, Tkachuk, Hamonic

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The Department of Player Safety announced that they have fined Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber $5,000, the maximum fine allowable in the CBA,  for cross-checking Toronto’s Wayne Simmonds Saturday during Game 2 of the playoffs.

The veteran forward was not assessed a penalty against Simmonds on the play, but did receive a two-minute minor for cross-checking on Toronto’s Pierre Engvall during the third period and later received a 10-minute misconduct. Montreal received seven minor penalties during their 5-1 loss to Toronto.

  • The Edmonton Oilers look to be making several lineup changes after falling 2-0 to the Winnipeg Jets in their first-round matchup, according to Oilers insider Bob Stauffer. With the hope of being faster on the ice, the team is scratching James Neal, Dominik Kahun and Alex Chiasson, while bringing Tyler Ennis, Gaetan Haas and Devin Shore. The team has also split up defensemen Tyson Barrie and Darnell Nurse, while demoting forward Kailer Yamamoto to the third line.
  • Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk, who is eligible to sign an extension with the team, tells Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg that he hasn’t spoken to Flames’ management about a new contract. The 23-year-old has one more year remaining at a $7MM AAV, but also will have a qualifying offer of $9MM when he becomes a restricted free agent. That’s a lot of money for a player that hasn’t taken that next step the team was hoping for. Tkachuk scored 34 goals and 77 points during the 2018-19 season and looked to be developing into a star player. However, those numbers have dropped to 23 goals and 61 points in 69 2019-20 and then 16 goals and 43 points in 56 games this season. There’s even been talk of Calgary making major changes this year, which could, in theory, include Tkachuk as well.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have high hopes they can re-sign defenseman Travis Hamonic to a new contract for the upcoming season. Hamonic, who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, played 38 games for Vancouver, mostly pairing with Quinn Hughes and fared well, despite dealing with injuries and rust. However, The Province’s Ben Kuzma reports that general manager Jim Benning said that there is interest in bringing back Hamonic, assuming the two sides can reach a reasonable deal. The 30-year-old signed a one-year deal worth $1.25MM in hopes of staying in Western Canada, suggesting a deal is legitimately possible.

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