And stats tell everything right? He has spent the majority of his NHL time stapled to the Pens top line, where he was barely serviceable. When he wasnt there he was next to useless. Hes going to bounce in and out of the Flames lineup and rightfully so. The fancy stats argument does not hold water with him, just like AA was going to score 30 goals next to McDavid.
It's not his fault that he was forced to play above his skill-level. According to Penguins fans, it was a combination of Crosby wanting to play with him and Sullivan having crazy trust in him.
So when the best player in the world wants to play with you and your head coach trusts you so much, you kinda don't refuse the opportunity...
No one is expecting him to be anything more than a 3rd-4th line forward, but he's clearly someone players like to play with and someone that can be trusted out on the ice. By all accounts, he's an above-replacement level player and is a solid depth addition. Especially at league minimum.
As for AA, very weird argument to bring up. The guy has never had good "fancy stats" and plays a completely different game than Simon in the sense that AA is a pure north-south shooter with no other talents.