yave1964 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 David Clarkson was signed as the biggest free agent of this past offseason, coming over for seven years at 37 million dollars after scoring 97 goals in 432 games with the Devils with a total of 770 PIMs. To be fair he did have a 30 goal season two years ago and potted 15 in the strike shortened season last year. A tough customer who can score and has had quite a bit of success on the power play, although overpaid he was a hometown boy coming home to a team that made the playoffs last year and looked to be adding strength to match up against the Bruins and Penguins in the East. Not the best start, not the start that he or the Leafs could have hoped for. Clarkson came off the bench to defend the miniature Kessel against the giant John Scott in the preseason postponing his regular season debut with the Leafs by ten games. One of the most moronic moves in a long time. A slow start when coming back is to understate just how off his game he has been. Bouncing up and down the lines Clarkson has managed a whopping 3 goals in 36 games and has looked lost and completely out of sorts. He even got suspended for a nasty hit on Vladimir Sobotka for another two games. Now he has been placed on IR with bursitis in his elbow. He has to be out a minimum of a week, but no time table has been set for his return. It is hard to feel sorry for a guy who will make over five million bucks this season (minus his Shanahan donations) but wow what a wretched nightmare homecoming this is. His is the only season that Stephen Weiss looks at and shakes his head in sympathy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polaris922 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 I'm starting to think it's evidence that some players only prosper in certain systems of play. The Devils aren't the run and gun, end to end style the Leafs have tried to adopt. Perhaps that's showing Clarkson's lack of speed, and he's not getting into the crease area to score the dirty goals he got in New Jersey so often. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 I'm starting to think it's evidence that some players only prosper in certain systems of play. The Devils aren't the run and gun, end to end style the Leafs have tried to adopt. Perhaps that's showing Clarkson's lack of speed, and he's not getting into the crease area to score the dirty goals he got in New Jersey so often. Oh absolutely the system plays a HUGE part in it. Clarkson, like you astutely pointed out was able to set up out front in New Jersey with a slower team looking for tip ins and shots off his body and what not. In Toronto he always seems a second behind the play. The Leafs allow the opponent to outshoot and out chance them almost every night, hoping for good net minding to keep them in the game until they can catch the other club pinching in too tight and then a Lupul or Kessel goes in on a breakaway and scores at the other end on a goalie who has fallen asleep. An oversimplification? Sure. But the truth is it is not that far off. I hate having Bernier because 60 percent of the play seems to happen nightly in his zone 20 percent in the neutral zone and only 20 per cent in the other end and it makes me a nervous wreck with him being outshot by a wide margin nightly. Clarkson, with his slow plodding up and down the ice style is simply not built for that. I love Randy Carlyle as a coach, he loves big mean nasty bruisers, everyone is expected to hit or you lose your ice time period and I respect that. But Clarkson came on board and Carlyle did not adjust his game to his offseason addition and Clarkson is a salary cap albatross around the Leaf's neck because of that. They cannot afford to make any moves and are going to be one of the clubs, like my Wings who are fighting for the last playoff spots or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 I think Clarkson is better than he has been for Leafs, and will come around eventually. Of course he's nowhere near worth that ridiculous Holmgrenian contract Toronto gave him, and that will be what everyone remembers him by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polaris922 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 They did overpay, eh? Lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 @Polaris922 I think even Leaf fans admit it's one of the worst contracts out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 The only reason Clarkson had a few decent offensive seasons was parking himself in front of the net and scoring the dirty garbage goals. The only way the Leafs will ever get even a bit of bang for their buck is playing Clarkson on the top pp. Currently JVR has the job of creating havoc in front of the net on the top pp. If the Leafs did not envision Clarkson on the top pp, they should have never, ever signed him...simple as that. David is skating worse than normal this year, plodding does not even cover it, he has lost a full step, and he was not fast to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 The only reason Clarkson had a few decent offensive seasons was parking himself in front of the net and scoring the dirty garbage goals. The only way the Leafs will ever get even a bit of bang for their buck is playing Clarkson on the top pp. Currently JVR has the job of creating havoc in front of the net on the top pp. If the Leafs did not envision Clarkson on the top pp, they should have never, ever signed him...simple as that. David is skating worse than normal this year, plodding does not even cover it, he has lost a full step, and he was not fast to begin with. I don't mind this type of player but he does not seem to be the right fit with this club. Carlyle loves nasty hard hitters which sounds like Clarkson would have been a perfect fit but the Leafs play a transition game on offense and he cannot keep up, and like you said JVR is doing an outstanding job on the first power play and no reason to change anything around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 @yave1964 Forget what exact stat it was, but my Leaf buddies tell me that the Leafs score the least amount of goals in the NHL off the cycle, and the most off the rush, so yeah, very valid point about Clarkson....he does not fit their system at all. The problem with the strategy the Leafs employ, when the real push for the playoffs start, and the playoffs themselves, you *have* to be able to cycle, the opposing forwards take away a lot of those score off the rush goals by clogging up the neutral zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) @yave1964 Forget what exact stat it was, but my Leaf buddies tell me that the Leafs score the least amount of goals in the NHL off the cycle, and the most off the rush, so yeah, very valid point about Clarkson....he does not fit their system at all. The problem with the strategy the Leafs employ, when the real push for the playoffs start, and the playoffs themselves, you *have* to be able to cycle, the opposing forwards take away a lot of those score off the rush goals by clogging up the neutral zone. I agree completely with every bit of that. That said, My wife and I were discussing Clarkson and she described him as a playoff player, the type who is capable of putting up huge numbers and taking over a series in the post season. She likened him to Claude Lemieux and his ilk, she says she could see Clarkson scoring more post season goals than regular season ones in a long post season run, the type who you need to win in the postseason and told me that in her opinion if Clarkson had been with the Leafs last year she has no doubt they would have gotten past Boston. I don't know if I necessarily agree with her but I see where she is coming from..... Edited January 20, 2014 by yave1964 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 @yave1964 Stats back up your wife. Clarkson has played 472 career games and has 20 game winning goals, not a bad average at all. Not sure how many are game winners, but his production dips a bit in the playoffs, 5 goals in 44 career playoff games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Clueless Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 David who? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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