Todd Simpson played for Brown University for one season before moving up to the WHL in 1992 where he would play for the Tri-City Americans and Saskatoon Blades before signing as a free agent with the Calgary Flames.
Simpson would make his NHL debut in the 1995-96 season playing in six games for the Flames, while spending the majority of the year in the AHL, with the Saint John Flames. A hard-nosed defenceman, Simpson's 1996-97 season would see him stay in the NHL for good, playing in all 82 games in Calgary and represent Canada at the 1997 World Championships.
After four seasons with the Flames Simpson was traded to the Florida Panthers in 1999 where he went on to play parts of two seasons. Midway through the 2001-02 season, Simpson was dealt to the Phoenix Coyotes where he played up until the 2002-03 season.
In 2003-04 the Anaheim Mighty Ducks acquired Simpson at the Waiver Draft and he went on to play 46 games in Anaheim before moving on to the Ottawa Senators just prior to the 2004 NHL All-Star game. After seeing limited playing time in Ottawa, Simpson was acquired by the Chicago Blackhawks in the summer of 2005 and went on to play the better part of the season in the Windy City before being acquired by the Montreal Canadiens at the 2005-06 NHL trading deadline.
