Charlie Simmer

Charlie Simmer
Born (1954-03-20) March 20, 1954
Terrace Bay, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for NHL
California Seals
Cleveland Barons
Los Angeles Kings
Boston Bruins
Pittsburgh Penguins
AHL
Springfield Indians
1.GBun
Eintracht Frankfurt
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 39th overall, 1974
California Seals
WHA Draft 26th overall, 1974
Cleveland Crusaders
Playing career 1974–1992

Charles Robert 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, who was notable for his scoring and power play prowess.

Playing career

After a junior career with the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey Association that saw him score 99 points in his only season of 1973–74, 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 NHL. 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 21 goals in 39 games.

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 shooting percentage of 32.75 in 1981 was, and remains, an NHL record.

Charlie Simmer awaiting a face off with Brian Sutter of the St. Louis Blues (pictured right) and Bruins teammate Mike Milbury (pictured left) at the Boston Garden on March 21, 1985. (Final Score: Bruins 1-Blues 1/OT)

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.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1971–72 Kenora Muskies MJHL 45 14 31 45 77 — — — — —
1972–73 Kenora Muskies MJHL 48 43 68 111 57 — — — — —
1973–74 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHA-Jr. 70 45 54 99 137 — — — — —
1974–75 California Golden Seals NHL 35 8 13 21 26 — — — — —
1974–75 Salt Lake Golden Eagles CHL 47 12 29 41 86 — — — — —
1975–76 California Golden Seals NHL 21 1 1 2 22 — — — — —
1975–76 Salt Lake Golden Eagles CHL 42 23 16 39 96 — — — — —
1976–77 Cleveland Barons NHL 24 2 0 2 16 — — — — —
1976–77 Salt Lake Golden Eagles CHL 51 32 30 62 37 — — — — —
1977–78 Los Angeles Kings NHL 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
1977–78 Springfield Indians AHL 75 42 41 83 100 4 0 1 1 5
1978–79 Los Angeles Kings NHL 37 21 27 48 16 2 1 0 1 2
1978–79 Springfield Indians AHL 39 13 23 36 33 — — — — —
1979–80 Los Angeles Kings NHL 64 56 45 101 65 3 2 0 2 0
1980–81 Los Angeles Kings NHL 65 56 49 105 62 — — — — —
1981–82 Los Angeles Kings NHL 50 15 24 39 42 10 4 7 11 22
1982–83 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 29 51 80 51 — — — — —
1983–84 Los Angeles Kings NHL 79 44 48 92 78 — — — — —
1984–85 Los Angeles Kings NHL 5 1 0 1 4 — — — — —
1984–85 Boston Bruins NHL 63 33 30 63 35 5 2 2 4 2
1985–86 Boston Bruins NHL 55 36 24 60 42 3 0 0 0 4
1986–87 Boston Bruins NHL 80 29 40 69 59 1 0 0 0 2
1987–88 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 50 11 17 28 24 — — — — —
1988–89 Eintracht Frankfurt 1.GBun 36 19 32 51 68 4 1 2 3 13
1990–91 San Diego Gulls IHL 43 16 7 23 63 — — — — —
1991–92 San Diego Gulls IHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
NHL totals 712 342 369 711 544 24 9 9 18 32

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1983 Canada WC 10 2 3 5 8

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 active player in North American professional hockey to have played for the Seals/Barons franchise (though Dennis Maruk was the last alum of the franchise to play in the NHL, upon his retirement in 1989.)

He was formerly married to one-time Playboy Playmate of the Year Terri Welles; the couple had one daughter. Simmer spent years as a color commentator for the Phoenix Coyotes and the Calgary Flames on Sportsnet.

Awards and achievements

References

  1. ↑ http://www.hockey-reference.com/leaders/shot_pct_career.html

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 and Blaine Stoughton)

Succeeded by
Mike Bossy
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