Since joining the Leafs in 2020, he has scored 27 points in 128 games.
This season, he lost Keefe's confidence and played only 18 games with the Leafs.
However, he's still a part of the team, and the coach defended him during a press conference.
Yesterday, against Montreal, Simmonds showed what he can still bring to the table: grit and fists. Those attributes can be quite useful during the playoffs.
In case you missed it, he completely took down Mickael Pezzetta:
Rumors suggest that the Leafs wanted to give Simmonds a proper farewell in Toronto, in what could be his last game as a Leaf in the city.
After the game, a reporter asked about this, and Keefe didn't appreciate the assumption.
Even if he didn't play much this season, Simmonds is still a part of the team, as Keefe mentioned.
We'll see if the coach relies on him for the playoffs. If there are any injuries, it wouldn't be surprising to see him on the ice.
As seen on Maple Leafs Daily -
Sheldon Keefe cuts media member off, slams him for assuming Wayne Simmonds' Leafs career is over
POLL | ||
AVRIL 9 | 567 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe Destroys a Reporter After Wrongful Assumption Do you think Simmonds will play a playoff game? | ||
Yes | 438 | 77.2 % |
No | 129 | 22.8 % |
List of polls |