Wayne Simmonds' impact on hockey recognized by fans across the NHL

Wayne Simmonds is now the fifth Black player in NHL history to reach 1000 games played. He may not be scoring as many goals for the Maple Leafs or getting into as many fights as in his Flyers heyday but Simmonds impact on the game is significant, recognized by fans across the league.

Video Transcript

OMAR: This past Saturday, Wayne Simmonds played his the 1,000th game in the NHL. And I know Wayne Simmonds may not be the dominating force that he was when he was with Philly. But Wayne Simmonds playing that many games is so symbolic and so significant for who he is and who he represents.

Yeah, and Wayne Simmonds is the fifth Black hockey player to hit that milestone. And when you think of a lot of the stories and a lot of the difficulties that Black players needed to get through to not only just make it to the NHL but thrive, seeing Wayne Simmonds do what he's done over the entire course of his career and what he's still doing now is pretty significant.

Yes, he's not scoring goals. Yeah, he might not be fighting as much. But I think what he's doing to the overall atmosphere and the overall environment of the organization, not just the team, again I think that just speaks very highly to who Wayne Simmonds is as a person and the impact that he's left on the game. And I do know that when we all sit and watch that ceremony where he gets that silver stick, it'll be a very emotional moment.

And again, the fact that you have not only Leafs fans, but you even have fans from the Philadelphia Flyers, from the LA Kings who are tweeting about him and congratulating him for the feat, again I think it just speaks to how special of a person Wayne Simmonds is. So congrats to him. And I know that when the time comes to it, probably in the playoffs, Wayne Simmonds will do a lot of the things that Wayne Simmonds was known for.