Flyers hire Wayne Simmonds as part of hockey operations staff

Months after signing a one-day contract to retire as a Philadelphia Flyer, Wayne Simmonds has a new job: community relations ambassador and hockey operations consultant.

Simmonds was one of seven new hires to the organization's hockey operations staff, the Flyers announced Friday.

Former Flyer Reid Simpson rejoins the organization as its director of pro scouting in Europe. The Flyers drafted Simpson in 1989, and the left winger played one season in Philadelphia in 1991-92.

Kedryn Orrison-Pilgrim was named the head athletic trainer of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Flyers' AHL affiliate. Lindsay Eastwood will join the Flyers as manager of player and hockey communications.

Ryan Cyr is the new goaltending scout and development consultant. Oleg Znarok will be the Flyers' European player development and scouting consultant. Ellyse Robert joins Philadelphia as a hockey analyst.

In March, Simmonds announced his playing days were over and that he would officially retire from the NHL with the Flyers.

Philadelphia honored Simmonds before its second-to-last game on April 13, a 1-0 win over the New Jersey Devils, one of Simmonds' former teams.

Simmonds became a fan favorite in Philadelphia, scoring 203 goals in 584 regular-season games in eight seasons with the team. He mixed physicality with skill and was one of the team's leaders. He scored 20 or more goals in six of his eight seasons wearing the orange and black, scoring a career-high 32 goals in 2015-16.

He initially joined the Flyers in a 2011 summer blockbuster trade with the Kings that sent Mike Richards to Los Angeles and Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Flyers opened rookie camp on Thursday in Voorhees. The club's rookies, including top prospect Matvei Michkov , will face off against some New York Rangers rookies in a pair of games this weekend. The first game is Friday night.