At 34 years of age and in the final year of a contract that pays only $900K, Wayne Simmonds is perhaps playing in his last home game for his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. With only 17 games played this year, spending most of the season in the press box, Simmonds has sparingly been used in an enforcer role.
In what could potentially be his final home game, against their storied rival in the Montreal Canadiens, Simmonds was given an opportunity to do what he does best in his final game. Late in the first period, Simmonds challenged Habs forward Michael Pezzetta, and lived up to his reputation with a KO victory.
The Toronto crowd gave their hometown enforcer an incredible ovation during and after the fight, honouring the last time they'll see the event. Simmonds quickly became a fan favourite in Toronto, being a blue-collar Scarborough native who was proud of representing the Leafs. He would do anything for the team, and tonight, Leaf fans were able to thank him for it.