Miners continue to deal; acquire hard-nosed winger Simmonds

Miners continue to deal; acquire hard-nosed winger Simmonds

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

The Sudbury Miners and Georgetown Millers made a move early Monday morning, as the Miners sent Tobias Rieder and a 1^st round pick (15^th overall), to the Georgetown Millers in exchange for hard-nosed winger Wayne Simmonds and Georgetown’s 1st round pick in 2018 (20^th overall).

Simmonds, a restricted free agent, is expected to sign with the Miners in short order. The contract is reported to be two (2) years at an AAV of $5 million dollars. Rieder, a restricted RFA at the end of the 2017-18 CCHL season, was signed to a 2-year deal at an AAV of $2.45 million last week.

Given the youth on his roster, Sudbury General Manager Terry James was looking for some veteran guidance to help the young kids continue their development.

"It's not every day that you can acquire a player like Wayne Simmonds and what he can bring to the team," said James. "He is going to compliment the type of game that we plan on playing. He brings grit and sandpaper, to go along with versatility in being able to play in all situations. He brings along a tremendous amount of experience to fit into our lineup, and it just adds to the depth of our forwards."

Simmonds basically saw the writing on the wall at the end of year being an RFA and with the Millers going public with their desire to get younger. However, as any player will tell you, it is never easy to be traded, even if you are a seasoned veteran.

"It was extremely difficult (to leave Georgetown); the owners, the organization has been first-class to me over the time I've been here," Simmonds said. "For my family, it is going to be extremely tough to now have them move to a new country but everybody in our house is extremely excited to be a part of the Miners and where they are going. I'm ecstatic to be a part of that."

Simmonds was originally drafted in the fifth round of the 2007 CCHL Entry Draft (106th overall) by the Dayton Musicmen. The gritty forward got into all 82 games this year with the Millers, scoring 33 goals and 22 assists for 55 points and was among the league leaders in both hits and penalty minutes. 

In the playoffs, Simmonds would chip in another 4 goals and an assist for the Millers before they were ultimately swept in the Canosa Conference Final by the Reyjkavik Puffin.

"It's not every day that you can acquire a player like Patrick Marleau and what he can bring to the team," Toronto general manager Lou Lamoriello said. "He fits right in with the type of game that we play. His skating ability is still exceptional, his versatility in being able to play in all situations, a tremendous amount of experience into the lineup. It just adds to the depth of our forwards."