Rob Simpson is an American-born sportscaster and author working in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He co-hosted "Stellick and Simmer" in the morning with Gord Stellick on Sirius-XM NHL Network radio for four full hockey seasons beginning in September, 2015. Simpson previously hosted "NHL Live" and the "Cisco All-Access Pregame Show" on the same network, a simulcast program produced at the NHL headquarters in New York, that also aired on NHL Network television. He previously worked as the rinkside reporter for Boston Bruins games on NESN for three seasons beginning in 2005, followed by the Madison Square Garden Network as a host, web columnist, and live rink reporter in 2010. He created and hosted the program "Maple Leaf America" on Leafs TV in Toronto for four seasons beginning in 2001. Simpson has authored three books about the National Hockey League. "Between The Lines - Not So Tall Tales From Ray 'Scampy' Scapinello's Four Decades in the NHL" in 2006, "Black and Gold: Four Decades of the Boston Bruins in Photographs" in 2008 and 2010, and "The Winged Wheel: A Half-Century of The Detroit Red Wings in Photographs" in 2012. All were published by John Wiley and Sons. His fourth book, "No Heavy Lifting - Globetrotting Adventures of a Sports Media Guy", was published by ECW Press in 2018. Simpson has taken part in and written about the NHL's humanitarian efforts in Africa with the non-government organizationRight To Play. In 2007, he documented the visit of players Andrew Ference of the Boston Bruins and Steve Montador of the Florida Panthers to orphanages in Tanzania, and in 2008, joined Bruins Captain Zdeno Chara's fundraising effort while climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.
31 in 31 in 31
From November 16th to December 16th, 2018, Simpson embarked on an unprecedented journey, attending 31 NHL games in the 31 different cities over 31 consecutive days. The trip eclipsed the previous record of 30 NHL cities in 30 straight days, completed successfully by hockey fan Ron Suggitt of Edmonton in March and April of 2015. Both men used the trips to raise funds for charity, in Simpson's case, for the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative. The NHL added its 31st franchise in 2017 making the new record possible. The league is adding a 32nd team in 2021.
