Though he hasn't officially retired, Simmonds finishes his career with three seasons (137 games) playing for the Maple Leafs in the city he grew up in.
Wayne Simmonds hasn't officially announced his retirement, but the 35-year-old forward did reveal his future on Friday.
In an interview with Joshua Clipperton of The Canadian Press, Simmonds opened up about not having a contract after the end of last season with the Maple Leafs and what's next for him.
"I haven't officially announced my retirement, but I'm done," Simmonds told Clipperton. "I had a great career. It was the best time I've ever had in my life. Right now, it's family time."
Following up, Simmonds said it was a pleasure to play at home in Toronto and that he's thankful he was able to dawn the blue and white Maple Leaf once in his career.
"Nice to be able to play at home. From the playing aspect, it wasn't what I hoped," Simmonds said to Clipperton. "I'm still grateful to the organization for allowing me to put on the Maple Leaf. That's an iconic jersey. It's something that I'll never forget."
Simmonds played for six teams in his 15-year NHL career, including the L.A. Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
He signed a one-year deal with Toronto on Oct. 09, 2020, and scored seven goals and two assists in 38 games while playing in the NHL's North Division. Simmonds was later awarded a two-year extension with the Maple Leafs with an annual average value of $900,000.
Bouncing in and out of the lineup, Simmonds only played 90 games throughout the final two years of his career. He scored five goals and 13 assists for 18 points in that span.
With this being the end of his career, Simmonds finishes with 263 goals and 263 assists for 526 points in 1037 games in the NHL. The power forward and enforcer also has 1313 penalty minutes in that span.
UPDATE: Simmonds took to X (formerly Twitter) to clarify his comments, saying he has not officially retired yet.
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