Charlie Simmer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Simmer (born March 20, 1954, in Terrace Bay, Ontario) is a retired ice hockey forward, most notably for the Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League, and notable for his scoring and power play prowess.
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[edit] Playing career
After a junior career ending with the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey Association that saw him score 137 points in his final season of 1974, Simmer was selected in the third round of the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, 39th overall, by the California Golden Seals of the NHL. He split his first three professional seasons between the Seals and the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the CHL, meeting success in the minors but receiving limited playing time in the bigs. The Seals relocated to Cleveland in 1976, but Simmer received little more playing time.
He was traded in 1977 to the Los Angeles Kings, but spent the season with the Springfield Indians of the AHL, winning all-star accolades. The next season Simmer was promoted halfway through the campaign to the Kings, and scored a prolific 21 goals in only 39 games for the big club.
While with the Kings, he played left wing on the "Triple Crown Line" with Marcel Dionne and Dave Taylor, one of the most potent and famed forward lines of the era. Despite injuries costing him significant playing time, Simmer had back-to-back 56-goal seasons and was further named an NHL First Team All-Star in 1980 and 1981. In the latter season, Simmer almost accomplished one of hockey's most difficult feats: scoring 50 goals in 50 games, with 50 in 51 games. That same season, Mike Bossy became only the second player in NHL history to score 50 in 50. Simmer's scoring percentage of 32.75 in 1981 was, and remains, an NHL record.
Simmer was traded at the beginning of the 1985 season to the Boston Bruins, where despite the cumulative effects of several injuries throughout his career, he starred for three more seasons. In 1986, Simmer won the Bill Masterton Trophy for his perseverance and dedication to hockey.
Simmer played his final NHL season for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1988. He subsequently played the 1989 season for Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga, and after a season off, parts of two seasons as a player-coach for the minor league San Diego Gulls before retiring.
[edit] Retirement
Simmer finished his NHL career with 711 points (342 goals, 369 assists) in 712 career games. At the time of his retirement, he was the last California Golden Seal and the last NHL Cleveland Baron active in professional hockey.
Today, Simmer is a color commentator for the Phoenix Coyotes and a part-time color commentator for the Calgary Flames. He was formerly married to one-time Playboy Playmate of the Year Terri Welles; the couple had one daughter.
[edit] Awards & Achievements
- MJHL First All-Star Team (1973)
- MJHL Scoring Champion (1973)
- Holds the highest career scoring percentage in NHL history for a player playing in at least 700 games. [1]
- Played in NHL All-Star Game in 1981 and 1984.
- Named to the Central Hockey League's Second All-Star Team in 1977.
- Named to the American Hockey League's Second All-Star Team in 1978.
- Scored goals in thirteen consecutive games in 1980, the longest such streak since Punch Broadbent's still unbroken record of sixteen in 1922.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Anders Hedberg |
Bill Masterton Trophy Winner 1986 |
Succeeded by Doug Jarvis |
| Preceded by Mike Bossy |
NHL Goal Leader 1980 (tied with Danny Gare & Blaine Stoughton) |
Succeeded by Mike Bossy |
