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Line Combos: Simmonds Appreciation

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The team was revved up last night. I’ll take that more. Wayne Simmonds of early season right there last night. Atta boy, look after business it’s his identity on this board. If he’s not being that guy he isn’t the same. Was awesome to see him playing like that. I appreciated it.
 
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Some of the reasons pickups like Foligno are important for the playoffs is that it provides physical players like Simmonds some backup.

Yesterday had a "team" feel. Leafs had more battle and a physical element. Playoffs always bring out the Gamers. The more of them you have, the better your chances when the game is played in the mud.

This team needs Simmonds to be the player he can be. Score once in awhile but just as importantly, play physical, harass the goalie, screen, give everyone some space.

Surrounding him with other players willing to do what is needed to win provides another wolf in the pack.
 
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Timing will be key with Simmonds. He wasn’t good when he first started the season and took a long time to get chugging. Then he got hurt that same game he got up to full speed and has been quiet since coming back. In fact he’s looked cooked except last night against Winnipeg. You need him to stay healthy and for him to catch that momentum with Foligno coming in but he’s an older part and will need careful use to get the most (or anything) out of. Whatever we get out of him is hopefully aligned with the playoff run.
 
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Echo comments here ... Wayner decided to play his top end last night to show everyone what he will do in playoffs ... but honestly I doubt he can do that night in night out like he used to .. but now we know it is still there and Keefer saw it which is most important .. he has to play on top 3 lines and he will protect whoever he needs to and he will be a physical presence

Foligno Matty Mitch
Hyman JT Willy
Gally Nash Simmonds
Jumbo Kerfoot Spezz

Mik comes out from what I saw from Gally last night .. every line needs to be able to pound .. but every line needs a little skill too and speed and size ... in playoffs it is all about balance and staying injury free
 
Stephen said:
You need him to stay healthy and for him to catch that momentum with Foligno coming in but he’s an older part and will need careful use to get the most (or anything) out of. Whatever we get out of him is hopefully aligned with the playoff run.
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Foligno is actually a year older than Simmonds (32).

I think he's still got plenty of gas left in the tank. He's never felt better compared to the last couple of years until he joined the Leafs.
 
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CanadasTeam said:
Foligno is actually a year older than Simmonds (32).

I think he's still got plenty of gas left in the tank. He's never felt better compared to the last couple of years until he joined the Leafs.
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Yeah Simmonds is actually relatively young at 32 (1989 birthday and 2007 draft) but might just have a lot of mileage on him.
 
Stephen said:
Yeah Simmonds is actually relatively young at 32 (1989 birthday and 2007 draft) but might just have a lot of mileage on him.
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And he plays a hard style. Plus he isn't the biggest guy either. Surprisingly strong and good fighter for his size/frame. I noticed that about him when he played for Owen Sound and the Soo. He was a player that never fought a ton, but when he did he was a guy who could hurt the other guy in a fight big time.
 
I honestly won't even care much about the goal/offense, what I loved to see last night was protecting Campbell after Dubois shoved his head down purposely as he fell on him. I'm so sick and tired of our guys doing nothing in these situations or ever sticking up for teammates. It was nice to see Simmonds not tolerate that crap and kind of run him into the boards a bit as he got up (was BS he got the only penalty there). Clearly opposing teams and players have known its free reign on anyone and there won't be an answer from anyone else. I hope that changes very fast heading into POs.
 
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If we get more of Simmonds from last night, great.

f we get more of Simmonds from the past 2 months, oof.

Come playoff time, I would think / hope that Joe / Wayne are rotated in and out of the lineup. I don't think you need both of them dressed every night, especially if Montreal is your first round opponent and they try turning things into a clogged up street fight.
 
JT AM da real deal said:
Echo comments here ... Wayner decided to play his top end last night to show everyone what he will do in playoffs ... but honestly I doubt he can do that night in night out like he used to .. but now we know it is still there and Keefer saw it which is most important .. he has to play on top 3 lines and he will protect whoever he needs to and he will be a physical presence

Foligno Matty Mitch
Hyman JT Willy
Gally Nash Simmonds
Jumbo Kerfoot Spezz

Mik comes out from what I saw from Gally last night .. every line needs to be able to pound .. but every line needs a little skill too and speed and size ... in playoffs it is all about balance and staying injury free
Click to expand...

Those are interesting lines that could work. I probably see Foligno on the second line and Hyman on the first, but they play a similar game with Foligno being more physical, Hyman more of a scoring threat, it would balance out nicely even if structured this way. I also probably see Nash on the 4th, instead of Kerfoot.

I tend to agree that Mik might be the odd man out. He brings speed and does create chances, but, for a balanced lineup, the above listed players probably provide more of a playoff-type battle-tested look.
 
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93WrapAround said:
I honestly won't even care much about the goal/offense, what I loved to see last night was protecting Campbell after Dubois shoved his head down purposely as he fell on him. I'm so sick and tired of our guys doing nothing in these situations or ever sticking up for teammates. It was nice to see Simmonds not tolerate that crap and kind of run him into the boards a bit as he got up (was BS he got the only penalty there). Clearly opposing teams and players have known its free reign on anyone and there won't be an answer from anyone else. I hope that changes very fast heading into POs.
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Simmonds, like all of the key additions since the offseason are "team first" guys. They desperately need guys like that.

The fact that Keefe stated it was his best game of the year underscores this perspective from the coaches. This team has had scoring and talent for years, they need guys in the trenches. If they score once in awhile, even better.

Simmonds is one of a handful of players on this team now who do whatever it takes to win and lets his teammates see this through action and words. Foligno and Nash (let's not forget him, though it's to a lesser degree) adds to this group. I hope Nash is in for the playoffs.

You can have all the skill in the world, but without guys sacrificing in other areas, you are going to fall short. Win however you can and do whatever is asked of you to accomplish this.
 
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Foligno - Matthews - Marner
Galch - Tavares - Nylander
Hyman - Nash - Simmonds
Thornton - Kerfoot - Spezza

OR

Hyman - Kerfoot - Simmonds
Mikheyev - Thornton - Spezza
 
In Simmonds first 9 games, he was a minus 5. He also scored three goals. 17 minutes in penalties.
He wanted to and was motivated to be here. ...and I think he was doing too much.

And although the Leafs could definitely use some depth scoring, he's been a neutralizing force out
there. Since those first 9 games, he's played 20 games and hasn't been a minus player once.
In takeaways/60, he's currently 5th on the team. And of course there's his 8.97 hits/60 to go with it.

He's just the type of player opposing players don't want to play against. In a game 7 with the lead,
you're not going to worry about throwing him out there, something the Leafs have lacked in the past.
 
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Need him to play like that in the post season. They should cut down his minutes over the last few games of the season to get him as rested as possible.

Last night was one of his best games as a Leaf
 
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moon111 said:
In Simmonds first 9 games, he was a minus 5. He also scored three goals. 17 minutes in penalties.
He wanted to and was motivated to be here. ...and I think he was doing too much.

And although the Leafs could definitely use some depth scoring, he's been a neutralizing force out
there. Since those first 9 games, he's played 20 games and hasn't been a minus player once.
In takeaways/60, he's currently 5th on the team. And of course there's his 8.97 hits/60 to go with it.

He's just the type of player opposing players don't want to play against. In a game 7 with the lead,
you're not going to worry about throwing him out there, something the Leafs have lacked in the past.
Click to expand...

His speed hasn't looked bad out there either. It's great to have a player who can throw hits, willing to fight (see Dubois wanting none of it), and the puck doesn't explode on his stick. I thought he had a good game against Winnipeg.

Maybe he will feel more comfortable playing his game with foligno and brooks out there finishing hits with him.
 
Sucks that they're likely going to have to sit one of Thornton or Simmonds come playoff time
 
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