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Quick Hits: Simmonds Trade Completed, OHL Playoffs and More

April 23, 2019, 8:47 AM ET [217 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Quick Hits: April 23, 2019

1) With the elimination of the Nashville Predators in the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Wayne Simmonds trade with the Flyers was completed. The Flyers will receive Nashville's fourth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Had the Predators defeated the Dallas Stars in the first round, the Flyers would have instead received a third-round selection.

Simmonds, an impending unrestricted free agent, was injured in Game 2 of the Dallas series. Setting up a screen in front of the net, he was struck directly on the knee with a puck as he attempted to jump out of the way of a shot by teammate Roman Josi. Simmonds was officially "week-to-week" with the injury. It takes a whole lot to get Simmonds (who plays through virtually everything) out of the lineup but this was not the type of injury that one can play through.

Unfortunately, Simmonds' short tenure with the Predators was not a success. He posted only one goal and four points in 17 regular season games plus the two playoff games. It appears unlikely that the Predators will re-sign the impending unrestricted free agent. Simmonds, a longtime fan favorite and immensely respected locker room leader during his seven and three-quarters seasons in Philadelphia, will turn 31 on Aug. 26.

Coming off an injury-riddled 2017-18 season (but one in which he still willed himself to dress in 75 games and score 24 goals), Simmonds had off-season surgery last summer to repair a midline pelvic tear. It is not uncommon for players who have had that surgery to struggle for the next half to full season. Simmonds' production took another dip this season, with a combined 17 goals and 30 points in 79 games between Philly and Nashville. Excluding the lockout-shorted 48 game season in 2012-13, it was his lowest output since he was with LA in 2010-11 (14 goals, 30 points) and not yet a recipient of power play time.

Given that power forwards often (not always) tend to decline significantly by their early 30s and the wear-and-tear on Simmonds has added up, this is not a great summer for him to become a UFA. There will still be a job for him somewhere in the NHL, but the term, cap hit and projected ice time will not be what it would have been a couple years ago.

2) Congratulations to Jim Montgomery, Jeff Reese and the Dallas Stars team for their first-round series victory. Back in 2016, the Stars defeated a severely injury-riddled Minnesota Wild team in six games in what, quite honestly, was not a particularly well-played series by Dallas beyond a dominating Game 1. This time around, Dallas stepped up to defeat a much more dangerous Nashville team.

3) Game 3 of the OHL Western Conference Finals takes place on Wednesday in Guelph. On Monday night, the Storm trimmed their series deficit against the Saginaw Spirit to two games to one with a 5-2 victory. Flyers prospect Isaac Ratcliffe extended his playoff goal-scoring streak to five straight games, opening a 2-0 lead for the Storm in the opening minute of the second period.

On the play, Ratcliffe received a pass high in the attack zone, pulled off a toe-drag move and scored from the top of the right circle. Back in the first period, he was denied on a similar play. Ratcliffe was also stopped on a mini-breakaway with the game still scoreless in the first period. He finally broke through in the second period. Ratcliffe has six goals and nine points over his last six games.

4) April 23 Flyers Alumni birthdays: Reggie Leach & the late Greg "Bird Dog" Smyth (1966-2018). Below is a video profiling the work that Leach, "the Riverton Rifle", does with youths in First Nation communities in Canada.

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