WAYNE TRAIN

Nicholas D'Agostino

Wayne Simmonds last opportunity to be a Leaf, might be upon us. At the start of the season, Simmonds was waived and it was made public that the Leafs wanted to do right by him so they made him available for trade. Now just a couple weeks later, Simmonds was called up and inserted into the lineup for the expected violent game against Winnipeg.

In that game Simmonds was very noticeable. Sometimes it was for the right reasons and other times it was not. Either way for that game Wayne Simmonds seemed like a player that was reluctant to go down without a fight.

We all know how much Wayne loves playing in Toronto and how much the locker room appreciates him but once the Leafs started the season with him on waivers and Zach Aston-Reese and Nic Aube-Kubel in the lineup on the fourth line it looked like Simmonds' job had been lost.

With the subpar performances of Zach Aston-Reese and Nic Aube-Kubel so far this season it looks like Simmonds might have another shot to get his job back. Now, I believe that whoever is playing better will be rewarded with a lineup spot so it is up to Simmonds to get on a role and stay in the lineup for a significant amount of time.

With Simmonds in the lineup he adds a physical element to the Leafs that is lost when he is not there. He also brings a certain presence to the Leafs that lets the other team know that he is no friend to nobody when he steps onto the ice.

With this presence it seems that the other Leafs have a certain swagger to them as they know that Wayne has their back at all times. This allows the Leafs to play physical, not back down and most importantly play their game without any fear.

If Simmonds wants to stay in the lineup he needs to bring these elements to the game each and every night he gets the opportunity. He won’t have a long time to audition as the Leafs are cap strapped and were only able to bring up Simmonds because Matt Murray is on LTIR. When he comes back the Leafs will need to make some decisions and it’s up to all fourth line (depth) players to make that decision a hard one.