The Washington Capitals have signed 27-year old forward Wayne Simpson to a one-year, two-way deal that will most likely see him playing in the AHL with the Hershey Bears. It earns him $650,000 in the NHL and $140,000 in the AHL.
NEWS: The @Capitals have signed winger Wayne Simpson to a one-year, two-way deal. ➡️https://t.co/6x4KoCNlFT #HBH pic.twitter.com/7aNjWtUj02
— y-Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) July 11, 2017
Simpson will be playing in his 5th professional season by the time the season starts in October. Signing his first NHL contract with the Caps, he had been a top player in both the ECHL and AHL over the past 4 seasons. After have a very successful 4 seasons with Union College in the NCAA, Simpson signed with the South Carolina Stingrays in 2013-14. Over the next 2 years, he recorded 96 points in 131 games with the team. In the 2015 playoffs, he led the Stingrays to the Kelly Cup Finals with a monstrous 38 points in 27 games before losing to the Toldeo Walleye.
After a 4-game stint with the Providence Bruins in 2014-15, Simpson got his chance to become an AHL regular in 2015-16 with the Portland Pirates and scored 36 points in 68 games. Last year, he played with the Providence Bruins on a full-time basis where he scored 49 points in 76 games including 14 points in 17 playoff games.
Simpson will most likely be a perfect replacement for the Bears in losing Stanislav Galiev, a player whose streaky play led to him effectively leaving to the KHL this season (something that is still up in the air).