I must admit, I did a double take when I saw Wayne Simmonds come out of the locker room this morning. I thought maybe he would skate at some point, on his own, but I don’t think anyone expected to see Simmonds participating in full practice drills one week after his knee procedure. As far as Terry Murray is concerned, Simmonds is back. Here’s what Murray said after practice.
MURRAY: “I’m very pleasantly surprised, first of all, that he’s there. I guess I kind of expected that he would get out there and dig in and push right through the whole practice. It kind of surprised me, but he said he felt good. A little bit winded, because of being off so many days, but there’s no issue with the knee. He feels fine, and after a couple more days of hard skating he should be ready to go.”
And here’s the post-practice interview with Simmonds…
Question: How did things go with the surgery?
SIMMONDS: “They didn’t have to repair anything. They just cut the piece off that was torn. I guess I’ve been playing without it intact for a while, so it didn’t do much.”
Question: Were you on the ice at all last week, when the team was in Canada?
SIMMONDS: “No. This was the first time I skated since two Fridays ago, so cardio-wise, I think I’ve got some work to do, but it feels good.”
Question: How does the knee feel?
SIMMONDS: “It doesn’t really hurt. Like I said, it’s been like that for a while. It just took the slightest thing to make it react. It’s only a matter of time.”
Question: Were you concerned, when you first knew that you would have surgery, that it might take longer to come back?
SIMMONDS: “Oh, definitely. You never know what’s going to happen, but you just try to be optimistic, and this was the best-case situation. I’ve missed four games so far, and we still have a little ways to go until the 26th and our next game, so hopefully I can be back.”
Question: Are you expecting to be back Saturday?
SIMMONDS: “I’m not too sure. They haven’t really said anything to me. I’ll just continue doing rehab and skating and we’ll play it by ear and see how it goes.”
Question: Have you figured out what exactly happened?
SIMMONDS: “It happened to me when I played in Owen Sound, in junior. Right before a playoff game, I was sitting there stretching, and my leg was kind of lateral and I put pressure on it, to get up, and it just locked right away. Fortunately, that time it popped right back out. This time, it didn’t pop out the whole weekend, and it just popped out a couple hours before surgery, actually. So I might as well get it done sooner rather than later. It’s better to have it happen now than the playoff push.”
Question: So they just cut some cartilage, that’s all they did?
SIMMONDS: “Yeah. A piece of my meniscus was just hanging there, dangling, so it’s better to get in there and clean it up.”
knee circumcision…
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Good news! He is a big piece of the puzzle. Hope he doesn’t have any re-occurring issues with it? Glad he is back and look forward to seeing him in action on the 26th! Go KINGS!!!
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Best feeling ever, just purchased my Wayne simmonds jeresy right before i heard about the injury was very worried he would be out for a while, fortunately it was the best case scenario dealing with the meniscus. I’ll be there on the 28th he better be in there!
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Thank You Santa!! Wayne we NEED you!!!
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it’s a Christmas miracle!
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I am starting believe this season was meant to be special. Anyone else leaning that way?
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Ask Simmers If there’s any kind of open wound that still needs to close up.I’d imagine it would probably be really small.
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Good one Marc Nathan. Party on Wayne..
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I too feel like this team is special…I started to feel it last year. this year they seem to have figured out how to win the close games. What’s really exciting to me is that their style is suited for the playoffs…
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Just as a figured. This is the same thing my ex-g/f had a few years ago and she was up and walking around again in 1-2 weeks.
It really is nothing that bad and just like Wayne said was the same with my g/f It never really hurt that bad, it would just lock up every now and then.
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There really is a Santa Claus…..
GO KINGS!
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Glad he didn’t have to repair the meniscus because that takes 2-3 months for it to heal. He must have had the outer horn torn where it was easy to get to and not a full pop open the knee joint to cut. The inner tears are the scary ones (personal experience). Welcome back Wayne, we missed you.
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It’s amazing how much we missed him.
It would be interesting if you took a poll of Kings fans..who is the most popular player on the team:
It wouldn’t surprise me if it was either him or Doughty.
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Wow. I am amazed at the exceedingly fast recovery time. That is quite impressive. A much needed boost to the roster. This small little break could prove to be a big, big plus.
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love this kids attitude! …go out there, work hard, think positive (“playoff push”), and hit everything that moves in a different jersey – simple math!
and now with Quick resting for a week he should be good to go every game the rest of the way, lol…
GO KINGS!!!
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it’s a festivus miracle…!
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haha Festivus is not over until Moller can pin Ivanans!!
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“It’s better to have it happen now than the playoff push.”
Don’t you just love this kid?
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Mr. Simmonds is one tough dude. Hopefully the team makes him wait until the swelling is actually gone before letting him play an NHL game. Bet Simmonds plans on playing the next game.
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I like Simmonds! That guy plays with alot of heart like Smyth!
Glad to hear your back! Man, we got one helluva team this year.
Cannot wait till the 26th!!!!
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Welcome back Wayne! Can’t wait for Saturday’s game with him and Smyth back in the lineup!
On a different topic, the Jacob Muzzin signing was really surprising considering how much depth we have on D. After reading Bob McKenzie’s story a few weeks back, I thought for sure there’s no way we were going to sign him. I like the signing since you can never have enough good D-men, but I’m surprised he decided to sign with us since we are so deep at this position. Maybe it just goes to show how players’ perception of the organization has changed for the better and hopefully will bode well for us when attempting to sign free agents in the future. It also says something about the kid’s character, competitiveness that he chose a more difficult route to make it to the NHL.
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I’d rather have Wayne miss a few
extra games right away,
than a bunch of games later.
I trust he will be safely healed before playing again.
I’d just advise the team:
Ultimately,
Don’t listen to Wayne.
Listen to the Doctors.
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Unbelieveable! What a freakin GIFT! I read the headline and just about fell off the chair in disbelief. I’m with the majority though. Come back when the doctor’s say it’s ok. I don’t want more torn meniscus flying around on the ice. (Ewwwwwwwwwww!)
Hey Bako- I’m in Isabella right now. It’s a story.
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Considering his all around game I would say he has been the teams most consistent player this season. So he would definitely be missed if out a long time. I always root for the name on the front or in this case logo on the front more than the names on the back, but he is one player I hope says a King his whole career. I love his attitude and the way he plays.
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