Wayne Simmonds on the uncertainty surrounding his future in the NHL.

There's no doubt that for a proud player like Toronto Maple Leafs veteran forward Wayne Simmonds this has to be a difficult period, one in which he has largely been relegated to the sidelines due to a combination of a decline in his play, a limited number of spots on the Maple Leafs roster, and of course the Maple Leafs' salary cap situation.

Over the weekend however an injury to veteran goaltender Matt Murray opened up a significant amount of cap space for the Leafs, due to Murray being placed on long term injured reserve, and with that space Simmonds found himself called back up to the main roster. This also gave the well respected veteran a chance to discuss his current situation with reporters in the Maple Leafs locker room, and he was quite candid about the fact that he was left stunned given how things have played out.

"Yeah, I think at first you're kind of shocked, you're stunned," admitted Simmonds as per TSN. "But it doesn't matter, the games don't stop, life doesn't stop, you gotta keep going, you gotta keep working no matter what. You never know what's gonna happen right?"

There have been rumblings that the Leafs might look to trade Simmonds at some point this season and there have even been rumblings that his former team, the Philadelphia Flyers, might have had some level of interest, however a trade has yet to materialize. I may be reading too much into Simmonds' comments here, but it sounded to me like he might even be open to that possibility if it meant a chance to play.

"I think you've seen around the league there's been a bunch of injuries and there's a lot of teams that are playing guys short because of the salary cap, so for me it's just keep my mind right, stay ready, and just work," said Simmonds.

In spite of what may be a difficult time for Simmonds, he made it clear that he remains fully committed to his fellow players on the ice.

"I don't know what's gonna happen, but like I said I'm here for these guys," said Simmonds. "I've poured my heart and soul into this team over the last two years and that's not gonna change, this is where I wanna be."