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4 Players the Toronto Maple Leafs Should NOT Re-Sign

By Stephen Nixon

MONTREAL, QC - MAY 24: Joe Thornton #97 of the Toronto Maple Leafs screens goaltender Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens during the first period in Game Three of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre on May 24, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - MAY 24: Joe Thornton #97 of the Toronto Maple Leafs screens goaltender Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens during the first period in Game Three of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre on May 24, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
TORONTO, ON – MAY 6: Wayne Simmonds #24 of the Toronto Maple Leafs  . (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Wayne Simmonds

I loved the acquisition of Simmonds and the idea of bringing in a player who can score, fight and be a leader in the room. In 38 games, he scored seven goals and added 45 penalty minutes, which was exactly what we all hoped for.

For a fourth-line winger, you really can’t ask for much more than that during the regular season.

However, during the Leafs seven games in the playoffs, I was disappointed in his play. I thought Simmonds would play a huge role in disturbing Montreal’s best players and would have a real impact on the series.

However, in the seven game series, he only had two penalty minutes, and those minutes came with 20 seconds left in Game 2. I know the NHL has changed but I thought he would have got in at least one fight to spark the team while they were down, or get in a few more scrums that would result in a coincidental penalty.

Simmonds needed to be an energy guy to get the team motivated and should have been someone that we all noticed during Game 6 and Game 7 of the series. Instead, he was invisible and didn’t play like the player we expected.

If Simmonds returns, it would only make sense at a number below $1M, but the team cannot afford to give him $1.5M again.

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