“I can play the game, but at the same time I can punch your head off.” —Wayne Simmonds, on his first day as a Maple Leaf
TORONTO – In an alternate (read: safer) universe, the fans might have blown the roof off the barn when he dropped the gloves.
Wayne Simmonds, that proud son of Scarborough, waited all of one period during life as a Toronto Maple Leaf to fling the mitts, roll up his sleeves and start ripping rights at the head of a Montreal Canadien.
It would be a stretch to say Simmonds punched Ben Chiarot’s head off, but he chucked ’em hard enough to smack a sponsor decal off his helmet.
Simmonds’ fourth swing of the fist caught nothing but air because Chiarot already lost his footing.
The tussle itself was short-lived, but its impact was still resonating, even after it helped ignite the home side from a 1-3 deficit to a 5-4 overtime win over their Canadian division rival.
“It was awesome,” beamed Morgan Rielly, moments after depositing the winner, his own nose bloodied by Round 1 of the rivalry. “What Wayne brings to this group, he’s been doing that in his career for a long time. It’s incredibly valuable.”
William Nylander called Simmonds’ fight “a turning point in the game.” Even though it was Nylander who scored on the subsequent power play — while Simmonds was punching, Alexander Kerfoot was drawing a minor penalty behind the Habs’ net — and later set up linemate Jimmy Vesey’s game-tying goal.
“He got the boys going,” Nylander said. “We were a little soft and slow in the beginning, and after that, we got fired up and got going, which was huge.”
Confirmed Joe Thornton: “Pretty much changed the whole game.”
Some will argue that Simmonds’ bit of barbarism had little to nothing to do with the Leafs’ ability to rally on the strangest of opening nights, but those voices won’t be on the bench.
We’re not saying Simmonds punched the Leafs to a 5-on-3 strike or gave a dominant-looking Auston Matthews 14 shot attempts or created John Tavares’s buttery feed to Rielly in sudden death.
This team will soar or sink on its talented top end, to be sure.
But we are saying that the two most recent Maple Leafs comeback victories inside fan-free Scotiabank Arena just happened to coincide with old guys fighting (see: Spezza, Jason).
The Maple Leafs have wielded a swagger driving into the opposition’s end or zipping the puck around on the power play for a while now. But they’ve lacked a swagger in other areas, particularly smack in front of the crease, Simmonds’ happy place.
“That’s my first real game action in like 10 months, 28 days, and I can probably tell you to the second. It felt really good, and I thought the boys needed a little bit of a spark there,” Simmonds said.
“I know my role on this team.”
At once, there is both an honour and a defiance with which Simmonds, 32, is battling through the home stretch of a gruelling pro grind that leaves him as just one of three active NHLers with 250-plus goals and 1,000-plus penalty minutes.
As Simmonds and Chiarot caught their breath in their respective penalty boxes, the Leaf made a point of looking over the timekeeper and giving the Canadien a thumbs up.
“I didn’t think he wanted to go at first, but then he dropped the gloves before me, so it was green light,” Simmonds said. “I’m happy he gave me that one and helped turn the tide for our team.”
One half screw you. One half thank you.
Simmonds took less money to come home and represent Toronto this season ($1.5 million) than Montreal offered.
The winger reminded reporters Wednesday that this is his fifth team in three years, that he’s comfortable being the new guy.
During an accelerated training camp, Simmonds dropped dead-serious quotables like: “I’ve been a leader on every team I’ve been on.” And: “I skated by the glass again today. Still look good in blue and white.”
On the day of free agency, when signed his contract, Simmonds said: “It’s not like I’m coming here to fight the whole world, but at the same time I’m not afraid to fight the whole world.”
On any other fourth-liner, these statements would hang arrogant.
Not so with Wayne Simmonds, who has no delusions of regaining his status as a 30-goal man or All-Star Game MVP. He’s as real as a punch in the head.
He is in town to alter the energy, puff some chests and throw some checks. Despite seeing just 10:25 in ice time, Simmonds led all Leafs with five hits.
“He’s incredibly valuable to this team, and we’re very, very lucky to have him. He’s hard to play against, so it’s nice to have him on our side for once,” Rielly said. “Tonight was the perfect example of him taking it upon himself to get the team going — and that’s exactly what happened.”
Before Simmonds walked out of the rink with a win and another checkmark on the fight card, he was asked to think about the prospect of throwing down nine more games against Montreal this season.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
