You like him, you really like him

I’ve had readers ask, recently, about players’ thoughts about trades/trade rumors. My response has been that, during the heart of a playoff race, I think players pay attention to them far less than fans do. But I thought it would be interesting to ask Wayne Simmonds about it, not only because the Kovalchuk trade just went down but because his name was floated, and there seemed to be near-unanimous agreement that the Kings shouldn’t trade him. I asked Simmonds if he was aware that the vast majority of fans were adamant that he not be included in a trade…

SIMMONDS: “It’s good for my confidence, to hear that, to hear what the fans are saying. That’s pretty nice. It makes a guy feel good. Obviously, I’ve just got to keep doing the right things, what I’ve been doing, and hopefully I can continue to get the same response.”

To follow up, I asked Simmonds about the idea that, given how well the Kings have been playing, it might be wiser to just “let it ride” and not risk disrupting the roster as currently constructed…

SIMMONDS: “We’ve been playing really well of late. You know, it’s a part of the business but, at the same time, we’re not even thinking about that. That’s the furthest thing from our minds right now. We’re just concentrating on playing. We have good chemistry in this room here, and I like the way it is right now.”