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Maple Leafs’ Wayne Simmonds will punch your head off and thank you later – Sportsnet.ca

Published

4 years ago

January 14, 2021

“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.

“Can’t wait,” he said.

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Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

3 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

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Veterans Tyson Beukeboom, Karen Paquin lead Canada’s team at WXV rugby tournament

Published

4 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.

WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).

Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.

“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.

“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”

Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.

Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.

Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.

Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.

The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.

Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.

The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.

WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.

The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.

Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.

Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad

Forwards

Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);

Backs

Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

4 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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