View source for Charlie Simmer

{{short description|Canadian ice hockey player}}
{{Infobox ice hockey player
| image = {{CSS image crop|Image = Mikemilburyfacingoff.jpg |bSize = 700|cWidth = 230|cHeight = 275|oTop = 0|oLeft = 250|Location = center}}
| caption = Simmer (above) with the [[Boston Bruins]] in 1985
| played_for = [[California Golden Seals]] <br>[[Cleveland Barons (NHL)|Cleveland Barons]] <br>[[Los Angeles Kings]] <br>[[Boston Bruins]] <br>[[Pittsburgh Penguins]] <br>[[Frankfurt Lions|Eintracht Frankfurt]]
| position = [[Winger (ice hockey)|Left wing]]
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lb = 210 
| ntl_team = CAN
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1954|3|20|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Terrace Bay]], Ontario, Canada
| draft = 39th overall
| draft_year = 1974
| draft_team = [[California Golden Seals]]
| wha_draft = 26th overall
| wha_draft_year = 1974
| wha_draft_team = [[Cleveland Crusaders]]
| career_start = 1974
| career_end = 1992
| shoots = Left
}}
'''Charles Robert Simmer''' (born March 20, 1954) is a Canadian former professional [[ice hockey]] [[forward (ice hockey)|forward]], most notably for the [[Los Angeles Kings]] in the [[National Hockey League]], who was known for his scoring prowess.

==Playing career==
After a junior career with the [[Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds]] of the [[Ontario Hockey Association]] that saw him score 99 points in his only season ([[1973–74 OHA season|1973–74]]), Simmer was selected in the third round of the [[1974 NHL amateur draft]], 39th overall, by the [[California Golden Seals]], where he joined a young field of players such as [[Larry Patey]], [[Rick Hampton]], [[George Pesut]], [[Al McAdam]] and [[Stan Weir]]. He split his first three professional seasons between the Seals and the [[Salt Lake Golden Eagles]] of the [[Central Professional Hockey League|CHL]], having success in the minors but receiving limited playing time in the NHL. The Seals relocated to [[Cleveland Barons (NHL)|Cleveland]] in [[1976–77 NHL season|1976]], but Simmer did not receive more playing time.

He was traded in [[1977–78 NHL season|1977]] to the [[Los Angeles Kings]], but spent the season with the [[Springfield Indians]] of the [[American Hockey League|AHL]], winning All-Star accolades. [[1978–79 NHL season|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 (hockey)|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 leading the NHL in goals during the [[1979–80 NHL season|1979-80]] season. Further being named an [[NHL All-Star team|NHL first team All-Star]] in [[1979–80 NHL season|1980]] and [[1980–81 NHL season|1981]]. In the latter season, Simmer almost accomplished one of hockey's most difficult feats: scoring [[50 goals in 50 games]]. Simmer entered his 50th game with 46 goals and scored three times to finish just shy of the mark; that same night, [[Mike Bossy]] became only the second player in NHL history to score 50 in 50.<ref name="bossy">{{cite news |last1=Keese |first1=Parton |title=Bossy's Last-Chance Goals a Dramatic Ending to 50-Game Quest |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/26/sports/bossy-s-last-chance-goals-a-dramatic-ending-to-50-game-quest.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=8 August 2018 |language=en |date=26 January 1981}}</ref> Simmer scored his 50th goal the following night in his 51st game.<ref>{{cite news |last1=International |first1=United Press |title=Simmer Scores 50th Goal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/27/sports/simmer-scores-50th-goal.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=8 August 2018 |language=en |date=27 January 1981}}</ref> Simmer's shooting percentage of 32.75 in 1981 was, and remains, an NHL record.<ref>{{cite web |title=NHL & WHA Single Season Leaders and Records for Shooting Percentage {{!}} Hockey-Reference.com |url=https://www.hockey-reference.com/leaders/shot_pct_season.html |website=Hockey-Reference.com |access-date=8 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref> Two months later, during a game on March 31 against the [[Toronto Maple Leafs]] at [[Maple Leaf Gardens]], Simmer missed a check on defensemen [[Borje Salming]] that saw one leg fly in the air while his right skate was caught in the ice, which resulted in a broken right leg.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/03/sports/simmer-of-kings-breaks-leg.html | title=Simmer of Kings Breaks Leg | work=The New York Times | date=3 March 1981 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/03/03/Charlie-Simmer-the-Los-Angeles-Kings-All-Star-left-winger/6300352443600/ | title=Charlie Simmer, the Los Angeles Kings&#039; All-Star left winger... - UPI Archives }}</ref> During the [[1983–84 NHL season|1983-84]] season Simmer scored 44 goals and 48 assists leading to him playing in the 1984 NHL all star game and being awarded the [[List of Los Angeles Kings award winners|Bill Libby Memorial Award]] as the kings most valuable player.

Simmer was traded at the beginning of the [[1984–85 NHL season|1985]] season to the [[Boston Bruins]], where despite the cumulative effects of several injuries throughout his career, he starred for three more seasons. One season saw him miss games with a broken jaw. In [[1985–86 NHL season|1986]], Simmer won the [[Bill Masterton Trophy]] for his perseverance and dedication to hockey; in that season, he missed nearly 20 games with a knee injury before coming back only to be struck in the eye by a stick during a game where he narrowly missed losing sight in.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-08-sp-666-story.html | title=The NHL / Chris Baker : Simmer's Injury Shows a Need for Visors | website=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=8 January 1986 }}</ref> Despite all these injuries Simmer still found a way to be a consistent scorer for the Bruins throughout his tenure tallying 60 plus points all 3 seasons. As well as scoring 20 plus goals every year.

Simmer played his final NHL season, for the [[Pittsburgh Penguins]], in [[1987–88 NHL season|1988]]. He subsequently played the 1989 season for [[Eintracht Frankfurt]] in the German [[Deutsche Eishockey Liga|Bundesliga]] scoring 51 points in 35 games. Then after a season off, he then spent parts of two seasons as a player-coach for the minor league [[San Diego Gulls (1990-95)|San Diego Gulls]] before retiring.

==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 alumnus of the franchise to play in the NHL, upon his retirement in 1989.)

In 1994 he was inducted into the Northwestern Ontario sports Hall of Fame.<ref>https://www.nwosportshalloffame.com/athletes</ref>

He was formerly married to one-time ''[[Playboy]]'' [[Playmate of the Year]] [[Terri Welles]]; the couple had one daughter. He subsequently remarried in 1995 to Jody and together they had a son and a daughter. Simmer spent years as a color commentator for the [[Arizona Coyotes|Phoenix Coyotes]] and the [[Calgary Flames]] on [[NHL on Sportsnet|Sportsnet]].

After his career ended, he resided in Calgary for a number of years before moving to Texas along with his wife in the mid-2010s to work with Decca, a consulting company specializing in oil and gas after they bought out his company.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/bruins/2019/10/26/charlie-simmer-got-off-his-own-hot-start-with-bruins/FCsFrqfI8eQgIemxMianmM/story.html | title=Charlie Simmer got off to his own hot start with Bruins - the Boston Globe | website=[[The Boston Globe]] }}</ref>

In 2023 he would be named one of the top 100 Bruins players of all time.<ref>Bruins Announce  “Historic 100” Ahead of All-Centennial Team Reveal  https://www.nhl.com/bruins/news/bruins-announce-historic-100-ahead-of-all-centennial-team-reveal</ref>

==Career statistics==

===Regular season and playoffs===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|[[Regular season]]
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|[[Playoffs]]
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! [[Season (sports)|Season]]
! Team
! League
! GP !! [[Goal (ice hockey)|G]] !! [[Assist (ice hockey)|A]] !! [[Point (ice hockey)|Pts]] !! [[Penalty (ice hockey)|PIM]]
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|- 
| [[1971–72 MJHL season|1971–72]]
| [[Kenora Muskies]]
| [[Manitoba Junior Hockey League|MJHL]]
| 45 || 14 || 31 || 45 || 77
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1972–73 MJHL season|1972–73]]
| Kenora Muskies
| MJHL
| 48 || 43 || 68 || 111 || 57
| — || — || — || — || —
|- 
| [[1973–74 OHA season|1973–74]]
| [[Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds]]
| [[Ontario Hockey League|OHA]]
| 70 || 45 || 54 || 99 || 137
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1974–75 NHL season|1974–75]]
| [[California Golden Seals]]
| [[National Hockey League|NHL]]
| 35 || 8 || 13 || 21 || 26
| — || — || — || — || —
|- 
| [[1974–75 CHL season|1974–75]]
| [[Salt Lake Golden Eagles]]
| [[Central Professional Hockey League|CHL]]
| 47 || 12 || 29 || 41 || 86
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1975–76 NHL season|1975–76]]
| California Golden Seals
| NHL
| 21 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 22
| — || — || — || — || —
|-  
| [[1975–76 CHL season|1975–76]]
| Salt Lake Golden Eagles
| CHL
| 42 || 23 || 16 || 39 || 96
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1976–77 NHL season|1976–77]]
| [[Cleveland Barons (NHL)|Cleveland Barons]]
| NHL
| 24 || 2 || 0 || 2 || 16
| — || — || — || — || —
|- 
| [[1976–77 CHL season|1976–77]]
| Salt Lake Golden Eagles
| CHL
| 51 || 32 || 30 || 62 || 37
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1977–78 NHL season|1977–78]]
| [[Los Angeles Kings]]
| NHL
| 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| [[1977–78 AHL season|1977–78]]
| [[Springfield Indians]]
| [[American Hockey League|AHL]]
| 75 || 42 || 41 || 83 || 100
| 4 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 5
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1978–79 NHL season|1978–79]]
| Los Angeles Kings
| NHL
| 37 || 21 || 27 || 48 || 16
| 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 2
|-  
| [[1978–79 AHL season|1978–79]]
| Springfield Indians
| AHL
| 39 || 13 || 23 || 36 || 33
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1979–80 NHL season|1979–80]]
| Los Angeles Kings
| NHL
| 64 || 56 || 45 || 101 || 65
| 3 || 2 || 0 || 2 || 0
|-  
| [[1980–81 NHL season|1980–81]]
| Los Angeles Kings
| NHL
| 65 || 56 || 49 || 105 || 62
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1981–82 NHL season|1981–82]]
| Los Angeles Kings
| NHL
| 50 || 15 || 24 || 39 || 42
| 10 || 4 || 7 || 11 || 22
|-  
| [[1982–83 NHL season|1982–83]]
| Los Angeles Kings
| NHL
| 80 || 29 || 51 || 80 || 51
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1983–84 NHL season|1983–84]]
| Los Angeles Kings
| NHL
| 79 || 44 || 48 || 92 || 78
| — || — || — || — || —
|- 
| [[1984–85 NHL season|1984–85]]
| Los Angeles Kings
| NHL
| 5 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 4
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| 1984–85
| [[Boston Bruins]]
| NHL
| 63 || 33 || 30 || 63 || 35
| 5 || 2 || 2 || 4 || 2
|-  
| [[1985–86 NHL season|1985–86]]
| Boston Bruins
| NHL
| 55 || 36 || 24 || 60 || 42
| 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1986–87 NHL season|1986–87]]
| Boston Bruins
| NHL
| 80 || 29 || 40 || 69 || 59
| 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2
|-  
| [[1987–88 NHL season|1987–88]]
| [[Pittsburgh Penguins]]
| NHL
| 50 || 11 || 17 || 28 || 24
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1988–89 ice hockey Bundesliga season|1988–89]]
| [[Frankfurt Lions]]
| [[Eishockey-Bundesliga|GER]]
| 36 || 19 || 32 || 51 || 68
| 4 || 1 || 2 || 3 || 13
|-  
| [[1990–91 IHL season|1990–91]]
| [[San Diego Gulls (1990-95)|San Diego Gulls]]
| [[International Hockey League (1945-01)|IHL]]
| 43 || 16 || 7 || 23 || 63
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1991–92 IHL season|1991–92]]
| San Diego Gulls
| IHL
| 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals
! 712 !! 342 !! 369 !! 711 !! 544
! 24 !! 9 !! 9 !! 18 !! 32
|}

===International===
{{MedalTableTop|name= }}
{{MedalCountry|{{ih|CAN}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Ice Hockey World Championships|World Championships]]|}}
{{MedalBronze|[[1983 World Ice Hockey Championships|1983 West Germany]]|}}
{{MedalBottom}}
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" ID="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:40em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year
! Team
! Event
! Result
! rowspan="102" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|-
| [[1983 World Ice Hockey Championships|1983]]
| [[Canada men's national ice hockey team|Canada]]
| [[Ice Hockey World Championships|WC]]
| {{bronze3}}
| 10 || 2 || 3 || 5 || 8
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" 
! colspan="4" | Senior totals 
! 10 !! 2 !! 3 !! 5 !! 8
|}

== Awards and achievements ==
* [[Manitoba Junior Hockey League|MJHL]] first All-Star team (1973)
* MJHL Scoring Champion (1973)
* [[NHL All-Star Game]] in [[1981 NHL All-Star Game|1981]] and [[1984 NHL All-Star Game|1984]].
* [[NHL first All-Star team]] in [[1979–80 NHL season|1980]] and [[1980–81 NHL season|1981]].
* [[List of Los Angeles Kings award winners|Bill Libby Memorial Award]] in [[1983–84 NHL season|1984]]
* [[Bill Masterton Trophy]] in [[1985–86 NHL season|1986]].
* [[Central Professional Hockey League|Central Hockey League]] second All-Star team in 1977.
* [[American Hockey League]] second All-Star team in [[1977–78 AHL season|1978]].
* Scored goals in thirteen consecutive games in [[1979–80 NHL season|1980]], the longest such streak since [[Punch Broadbent]]'s still unbroken record of sixteen in [[1921–22 NHL season|1922]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{icehockeystats|legends=14320}}

{{S-start}}
{{succession box | before = [[Anders Hedberg]] | title = [[Bill Masterton Trophy]] winner| years = [[1985–86 NHL season|1986]] | after = [[Doug Jarvis]]}}
{{succession box | before = [[Mike Bossy]] | title = [[Richard Trophy|NHL Goal Leader]] | years = [[1979–80 NHL season|1980]]
(tied with [[Danny Gare]] and [[Blaine Stoughton]]) | after = [[Mike Bossy]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmer, Charlie}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Anaheim Ducks announcers]]
[[Category:Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winners]]
[[Category:Boston Bruins players]]
[[Category:Calgary Flames announcers]]
[[Category:California Golden Seals draft picks]]
[[Category:California Golden Seals players]]
[[Category:Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States]]
[[Category:Canadian ice hockey left wingers]]
[[Category:Cleveland Barons (NHL) players]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen]]
[[Category:Cleveland Crusaders draft picks]]
[[Category:Ice hockey people from Ontario]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Kings players]]
[[Category:Kenora Muskies players]]
[[Category:National Hockey League All-Stars]]
[[Category:People from Thunder Bay District]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Penguins players]]
[[Category:Salt Lake Golden Eagles (CHL) players]]
[[Category:Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds players]]
[[Category:San Diego Gulls (IHL) players]]
[[Category:Springfield Indians players]]