ST. LOUIS — Wayne Simmonds' purple plaid pants were held up by a black Louis Vuitton belt and complemented by a light blue button-up shirt.

Move over, P.K. Subban; there's another devoted follower of fashion on the Predators.

"Have to look good for my first day on the job," Simmonds said while flashing a smile that's missing a few front teeth.

The new Predator met his new team in St. Louis late Monday night, when he shook some hands and handed out some hugs at the team's hotel several hours after he was traded from the Flyers for Ryan Hartman and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft.

By Tuesday night, Simmonds and Subban, along with the rest of the Predators, were to be dressed in matching gold-and-white outfits for the newly acquired forward's debut with Nashville against the Blues.

Setting off alarms

What was to be his first good night's sleep in awhile Monday, though, was interrupted twice by fire alarms at the hotel, which gave Simmonds the opportunity to shake some more hands and meet some more people.

"We've know each other for a long time," Simmonds said of Subban, who once discouraged a Canadiens teammate from fighting him. "We've got a friendship from that. That’s huge coming to a team where you actually know a few guys."

Simmonds played with and against Subban growing up near Toronto, and the two won gold together, along with Kyle Turris, at the 2008 World Juniors. He also played with Brian Boyle in Los Angeles and Zac Rinaldo in Philadelphia under Peter Laviolette.

Subban said Monday he'd been looking forward to the day he could call Simmonds a teammate again.

"Whenever the trade deadlines come, I was always hoping, whether it was in Montreal or here, that we’d be able to add a guy like him to the team, and finally we have him," Subban said. "I called him (Monday) and I know he’s jacked and excited."

Let's get physical

Simmonds figures to bring toughness to the Predators, something they sorely lack. He, along with deadline-day acquisition Mikael Granlund, who was obtained from the Wild for Kevin Fiala, figure to bolster the Predators' sagging, last-in-the-league power play.

Simmonds, who will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, knew he'd be traded but didn't figure it would be a last-minute deal.

He received good reviews from former Flyers teammates Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen, who both played for the Predators.

"I'm happy it was Nashville that swooped in and picked me up," said Simmonds. "You can tell there's a good group of guys here. I met the majority of them last night. Then we had a fire alarm, unexpectedly in the middle of the night, and I met the rest of the guys. It was a pretty eventful night."

Another familiar face

Ryan Ellis said he didn't remember the hit he dished out six years ago.

The mere mention of Ellis' name, though, prompted total recall from Simmonds.

The year was 2012, Ellis' first in the league. Ellis, who is 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, hip checked Simmonds, flipping him over and causing him to drop his stick. The sequence prompted Predators announcer Pete Weber to remark "Ryan Ellis welcomes Wayne Simmonds to flight school."

"I know exactly what you're going to say," Simmonds said of the play. "I cut through the middle ... thought I'd be able to beat him. That didn’t work too well for me."

Most battles, have, though, for the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder who has 16 goals – including five on the power play – and 11 assists this season. He's topped 50 points in a season four times, and six times has scored at least 20 goals.

He's a net-front presence who figures to complement 6-6 Boyle well.

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the heart in the dog," Simmonds said. "I've always played hockey like that. I'm a tall guy, fairly skinny. But there's not too many guys that can outbattle me. I take pride in that."

Reach Paul Skrbina at pskrbina@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @PaulSkrbina.

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