Preds' Wayne Simmonds Ready to be 'Kamikaze in Front of the Net'

Even with nearly a year to wonder, ponder and imagine, the reality of a trade still took Wayne Simmonds a few moments to fully process.
The 30-year-old power forward held a 12-team, no-trade clause, but it didn't become a factor as he was dealt to one of the teams he wanted to play for - a team with a familiar coach and championship aspirations. Quickly came the booked flights, packed bags and a decision to meet his new club, the Nashville Predators, in St. Louis for the second half of a back-to-back to set of games.
With the clock hovering near midnight in the early minutes of Tuesday morning, there stood Simmonds in the lobby of the team hotel ready to shake hands and exchange hugs with teammates with which he was matching faces to names.

"It's always a shock. It was my second time being traded, but the first one I was a lot younger had a lot less responsibilities," Simmonds said. "This one is a little more of a shock, but I'm definitely excited to be here."
There's something beautifully simple about a trade-deadline acquisition. Twenty games to understand systems. Twenty games to gather momentum into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. One goal: to join a group of 25 other men, who have toiled for months for the same thing, and by any means necessary make sure your new team is the one winning when the final horn sounds.
"I don't think you really even need to think about it too much," Simmonds said. "It's the stretch drive here, we're fighting for first place in the division and every game from here on out is extremely important. I'm definitely honored to be here and I'm going to give it everything I have.
"I'm more of a kamikaze in front of the net. I like to be in front of the net and screen the goalie and tip pucks and battle. I think that's probably one of the strengths of my game, so I look to get to the net as often as possible."

The Predators and Simmonds aren't all foreign to each other, however.
The six-time 20-goal scorer (and on the cusp of another this year) skated for Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette, when both were in Philadelphia from 2011 to 2013. A mutual understanding of Simmonds's League-famous ballet in front of the opposition's net had the Preds coach and the forward eager to reunite.
"He's a physical player, but I don't think he's one of those players that recklessly hits people out there," Laviolette said of Simmonds. "What he does do, is he's courageous. He'll go to the front of the net, and he'll take a 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4 defensemen and battle for space and positioning. I think where you'll really feel him is just his size at the net. He brings some different elements. We bring a little bit of physicality back to the lineup."
"Lavi was awesome," Simmonds said. "He's definitely one of the best coaches I've had. He's very tenacious the way his teams play. I've always admired playing against Nashville and their systems; how aggressive the team was. I think I'm going to fit in perfectly and it's nice to be here for sure.
"My game is a little more complete than what it was when I was originally with Lavi. I'm just going to try and do my thing, and hopefully that adds to this team."

The wait to see Simmonds in Predators Gold won't last much longer. The winger is expected to suit up for Nashville tonight when the face the Blues (at 7 p.m. CT on FS-TN and 102.5 The Game). It remains to be see if fellow deadline acquisition, Mikael Granlund, who the Predators acquired from the Minnesota Wild, will be in the Predators lineup this evening.