Simmonds to miss 6 weeks with broken wrist
TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without Wayne Simmonds until mid-March.
The team has announced the bruising winger is set to miss six weeks after suffering a broken wrist in Saturday’s 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.
Simmonds, 32, scored twice in the game, but took a clearing attempt off his left arm in the third period. The injury was looked at by a trainer on the bench before Simmonds headed to the locker room for more treatment.
The Toronto native, who signed a one-year, $1.5-million (U.S.) contract in free agency to play in his hometown with the Leafs looking to add grit and leadership, failed to register a point in the first half-dozen games of the abbreviated schedule, but put up five goals in his past six outings.
The net-front presence on one of Toronto’s potent power-play units, Simmonds skated with John Tavares and William Nylander as part of the Leafs’ second line the past two games.
The club is already minus another veteran voice, with 41year-old Joe Thornton still recovering from a fractured rib suffered Jan. 20, while rookie Nick Robertson has been out since sustaining a knee injury Jan. 16. Both wingers were given four-week timetables for their return to the lineup.
“He’s a big loss for us,” head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Simmonds prior to Monday’s game at Scotiabank Arena against Vancouver. “He’s been playing well, not just with his play, but he brings a lot to our room in a lot of other areas. That certainly will be missed but, like other injuries that we’ve had, it’s opportunities for other people to step up.”
Keefe added the Leafs would go with 11 forwards and seven defencemen Monday as they looked to sweep their threegame series versus the Canucks, with second-year defenceman Rasmus Sandin seeing his first action in nearly 11 months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Toronto has outscored Vancouver 12-4 through the first two contests, including Thursday’s 7-3 triumph.
Simmonds, who battled various injuries in recent years, has 256 goals, 504 points and 1,145 penalty minutes in 921 career regular-season games with five NHL teams.