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Meltzer's Musings: Expectations for Simmonds |
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At the time of the Flyers' blockbuster trades this summer with Los Angeles and Columbus, the acquisition of Wayne Simmonds was probably the least-talked about element of the summer. But Simmonds had by far the best preseason among the three players (himself, rookie Brayden Schenn and Jakub Voracek) who directly came over in the deals.
Throughout the preseason, Simmonds had the look of a player ready to blossom into a quality NHL power forward who also possesses decent wheels. He established a presence down low in the offensive zone and finished off his chances (4 preseason goals). He hit and played physically.
If the Flyers to be successful this season, they are going to need Simmonds to continue taking forward steps in his development. He's not only going to have to help make the Flyers a tougher team to play against by adding a combination of tenacity and speed, but I think he's also going to face the tough task of trying to become a 20-goal, 45-plus point scorer on a team where he will need to continue playing well to have a chance at eventually jumping over Scott Hartnell for a spot in the top six at even strength as well as increased power play time.
At even strength, Simmonds' center (at least to start the season) is likely to be a rookie. Whether that rookie is Schenn or Sean Couturier remains to be seen over the next few days. Meanwhile, the other third-line wing spot has been won by Matt Read -- another rookie, albeit an older one at age 25. Simmonds is just 23 years old himself, with three years of pro experience. That's an awful lot of youth on one line.
Personally, I would like to see the Flyers open the season with veteran Scott Hartnell on the third line with the rookies and use Simmonds on a line with Briere and Voracek. You can always switch combinations later, and it's not like Briere and Hartnell will forget how to work together after spending virtually all of last season and the latter part of the previous campaign as linemates.
Over the course of the season, it really would not be all that big of a jump for Simmonds to get to the 20-25-45 production mark. Of Simmonds' 30 combined goals the last two seasons, 29 have been at even strength. He also had a 40-point season in his second NHL season (he saw fill-in time on the first line that year) despite a pretty big point drought late in the season.
If you consider how good he's looked on the power play during the preseason, I would think those special teams opportunities would increase. He deserves a long look on the power play at the start of the season, even if he skates on the third line at even strength.
I will update the blog later today regarding roster moves.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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