Simmonds would 'be mad' if not booed by Flyers fans in Devils return

Wayne Simmonds played for the Philadelphia Flyers long enough to know what kind of reception to expect as a member of the New Jersey Devils.

"To be honest, I think I'd be mad if they didn't boo me," Simmonds said at BioSteel camp in Toronto on Thursday.
Simmonds was joking, however, and said he was looking forward to his first game against the Metropolitan Division rival Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Oct. 9 in Philadelphia's home opener.
"I played there a long time, almost eight years, so it'll be nice going in there," Simmonds said. "... That should be pretty cool. It'll be a good experience. Looking forward to that."

Simmonds played eight seasons for the Flyers before being traded to the Nashville Predators on Feb. 25. He signed a one-year contract with the Devils on July 1.
Simmonds, who was 22 years old when the Flyers acquired him in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on June 23, 2011, said he still has fond feelings of his time in Philadelphia.
"I was pretty much a child in L.A.," Simmonds said. "You go to Philly, I'm still a young man but I grew up in Philadelphia. I owe that town a lot, that organization a lot. Just really appreciative of what they did for me."
Simmonds is 14th in Flyers history with 203 goals and seventh with 91 power-play goals. He scored at least 28 goals in five of his first six seasons in Philadelphia and was the most valuable player of the 2017 NHL All-Star Game.
He had 30 points (17 goals, 13 assists) in 79 games with the Flyers and Predators last season. He was limited to two games for the Predators in the Stanley Cup Playoffs because of a knee injury sustained in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round against the Dallas Stars.