Fans got it all wrong: the real reason why Simmonds lit up Edler!

The Toronto Maple Leafs got one more win to celebrate the playoff berth they clinched earlier this week with a 4-1 over the Vancouver Canucks, and fans were happy with the victory, but even more thrilled with the fact that veteran Wayne Simmonds picked a revenge fight with defenseman Alex Edler right off the top. 

While fans were thrilled to see that Simmonds was answering for his teammate Zach Hyman. The forward is out week-to-week with a torn ACL cause by Edler who collided with Hyman on a dirty knee-on-knee hit that got him suspended. 

However, many pundits believe Simmonds wasn’t seeking revenge for Hyman - or at least not only for him. It is believed that the gritty Leafs forward was also after revenge on his own as Edler for the broken wrist he suffered earlier this season thanks to Edler. 

And so it is believed that Simmonds might have had that in mind when he dropped the gloves with the veteran defenseman. 

However, we cannot contradict that Simmonds is a good teammate and probably thought of Hyman as well when fighting Edler. 

Anyways, his Leafs’ teammates don’t care about the real reason why he lit up Edler, they simply appreciate what he did. 

“His teammates appreciate it and recognize it. It set a good tone for the game, said head coach Sheldon Keefe, per Sportsnet. It was nothing that was really talked about beforehand or anything like that. It caught me a little bit off guard, but I think anyone who’s been around the game kinda knew what was happening there. Credit for Wayne to step up and, at the same time, for Edler to participate in that.”

Yeah, let’s give credit to Edler as well: it was a first career fight for the 35-year-old blue liner.