Simmonds to have future with Flyers decided in coming weeks, GM says

VOORHEES, N.J. -- Wayne Simmonds and the Philadelphia Flyers should have a better idea on the forward's future in the next few weeks, general manager Chuck Fletcher said Monday.

The 30-year-old is in the last season of a six-year contract with an average annual value of $3.97 million and can become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He could be moved ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 25.
"I've had several conversations with Wayne and more importantly with his representation, had some meetings with them," Fletcher said. "We all know where we stand, and I can't really predict how it's going to play out. But in the next few weeks we'll have to resolve it one way or the other."
Fletcher would not say if the Flyers have made Simmonds a contract offer.
"I don't want to get into details, I don't think that's fair to the process," Fletcher said. "The dialogue has been clear. There's a tremendous amount of respect from our organization to Wayne. I think everything's been professional and the communication has been very clear."
Simmonds has 15 goals this season, second on the Flyers to Sean Couturier with 19. He has four points (two goals, two assists) during a three-game point streak. In 810 NHL games with the Flyers and Los Angeles Kings, Simmonds has 467 points (241 goals, 226 assists).
Since he was acquired by the Flyers in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on June 23, 2011, Simmonds has 90 power-play goals, second among all players to Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (141). He has also scored 20 goals or more six times, including an NHL career-high 32 in 2015-16.
"Wayne's a good hockey player," Fletcher said. "I don't think he needs to prove anything to us. There's different factors you have to consider when you're going to sign a player. We have lots of holes and a certain amount of money to do it with the salary cap. We're trying to balance everything and make the right decisions. In a few weeks it'll be resolved one way or the other."

Simmonds' situation is one of many Fletcher is considering as he tries to help the Flyers climb the standings. Philadelphia won three straight before its mandatory five-day break before 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend. However, going into their game against the Winnipeg Jets at Wells Fargo Center on Monday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NBCSP, TSN3, NHL.TV), the Flyers (19-23-6) are 14th in the Eastern Conference, 14 points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"We have good players, we haven't been a good team," Fletcher said. "We haven't defended very well, our special teams have been atrocious really, in terms of what the numbers say. ... We have things we can do to improve this pretty quickly, but clearly, we've dug ourselves a big hole for this year.
"What I'm doing is talking to every team in the League and looking for opportunities. Whether it's now or this summer, we need to find some pieces to improve our team."
Fletcher, who was hired Dec. 3 to replace Ron Hextall, said he felt the Flyers could be buyers and sellers ahead of the trade deadline.
"I don't expect us to trade our first-round pick for a rental, but we could both buy and sell," he said. "To me it's not the next eight games or even the rest of the year. From this point forward, we have to get better. To be better next year we may have to try to get better this year. That's what we're trying to do, whether it's the choices on the ice, adding players, whatever we have to do. I could see us buying and selling to use those terms.
"The bigger focus is we'd like to get some pieces in here that could be a part of this for the next few years. That's where my focus has been."
Fletcher said the only untouchable is forward Claude Giroux, who leads the Flyers with 52 points (14 goals, 38 assists) in 48 games and was their lone representative at the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game.
"I would never say never to almost anybody besides Giroux," Fletcher said. "Giroux's got the no-trade, he's our captain, probably one of the best players in the history of the franchise, so I don't think that makes much sense.
"There's a lot of guys that don't make much sense to trade either. But you can't say never."