David Clarkson
- Thread starter mjmgrand
- Start date
mr grieves
New member
drummond said:
I dunno. I've liked what I've seen of him. He looks terrible skating, but can somehow -- effort and reach, I guess -- track a puck down and keep a play alive. During his stint with Bolland, he was good defensively, which I didn't really expect. A third-line grinder who can, in the right circumstances, contribute offensively is what Nonis signed. As a UFA, that warrants more than half of what he signed for -- but not much more. Intangibles, you know?
J
Jalili
Guest
I still think his spot on the team lies on the 3rd line rather than 2nd. For whatever reason that was how he was kind of advertised by NJ Devils fans, a guy who works better with other grinders than with skilled types.
mr grieves
New member
AvroArrow said:
Well, Bolland does seem to be a better player, but he's also had a few things going in his favor that Clarkson hasn't, like some decent power play time. All the same, I wouldn't take one guy's 15 game hot streak and another's 7 game cold streak to mean all that much.
L K
Active member
mr grieves said:
Well it isn't a 7 game cold streak for Clarkson. It's now 41 games with 9 points. And I think his argument is a sound one in that a guy who is playing tough minutes has a hard time scoring. Grabovski got stuck in that role last year and put up a 15G/12A/27P pace season last year.
Clarkson's career numbers fall around that area AND he really only has a year and a half of playing at a level above that kind of production.
Clarkson is heading very quickly into my least favourite player on the team category.
GhostofPotvin29
New member
7 of Bolland's 10 points are at even-strength.
Well, lots people called it a disasterous contract the second it was signed. The biggest problem I see is that it is going to eliminate the opportunity to improve in the future, unless there is a truly dramatic rise in the cap. I'd rather spend the money overpaying at a position of greater need -- a top center or top defenseman -- even if it meant being a little worse in the short term.
GhostofPotvin29
New member
princedpw said:
And if you're going to stifle one's production with defensive minutes despite a big contract, wouldn't it have made more sense to continue to do that with Grabovski who can play C?
I don't even dislike Clarkson that much if I don't think about the contract, but it's impossible not to.
Highlander
Active member
With the reports on TV and merchandise sales I would think it is impossible to think the cap will not rise dramatically in the next few years, probably around 90 million. Clarkson's a good player and will come through when we need him most.
Champ Kind
New member
The writing was on the wall for a poor start by Clarkson. Leaving aside the suspension, it's obvious that signing in Toronto was a big deal for him, especially emotionally. Excuse the cliche, but he's squeezing the stick really tightly. But aside from a bad bounce or two, I think he's better than advertised. As Corn Flake has correctly pointed out, the guy has a really soft pair of hands. He is terrific on the forecheck and takes the body. He brings a really unique element to the Leafs and I think once thigns start to click there will be no looking back.
All of the contract talk, 16 minbutes a night and critique of 9 points in his last 41 games (or whatever it is) way, way premature. Let him fit into the system, get acquainted with the team and the coach. He's going to be fine.
All of the contract talk, 16 minbutes a night and critique of 9 points in his last 41 games (or whatever it is) way, way premature. Let him fit into the system, get acquainted with the team and the coach. He's going to be fine.
Corn Flake
New member
If Clarkson was the first UFA to have an awkward first season upon changing teams, then I would be concerned.
GhostofPotvin29
New member
Corn Flake said:
I think the concerning thing is that most UFA's have a past track record to look at to reassure you that they will come around. You look at Clarkson and he has that one 30 goal season, but otherwise his statistics look very, well...Kulemin-ish. Which isn't a knock on either player, and they're both good at what they do, but they also shouldn't be paid like they are 30 goal scorers.
I love the elements Clarkson brings to the table, he's strong on the puck, he forechecks hard, he hits hard, he seems capable defensively. But, as LK points out, it's hard to say if the offense is still there, or if it will come back. And if it doesn't, that's a heck of a lot to pay for the grunt work.
mr grieves
New member
L K said:
Well, I said 'like some power play time,' and Bolland's best offensive performance came when he was playing with Lupul. He's had time on the second line, and he's clicked with Raymond. Not saying Bolland's excelling is entirely environmental or a fluke -- he's looked much better than Clarkson -- but it looks like he's been used in more situations, several of them conducive to scoring, than Clarkson. My only point is, contract aside, Clarkson looks okay to me: he seems to do a lot of things Kuli does when he's not scoring, and, since my expectations were pretty low, I'm not hugely disappointed by his performance.
That he's a misallocation of cap space and that Nonis shouldn't've overpaid him (and other avatars of gritty intangibles) instead of filling out the bottom six with NHL talent that could move up the line-up are things I've said since the end of June. My preferred roster for the 2013-14 season did not include Clarkson.
L K
Active member
Deebo said:
Which is going to be crucial for the Leafs to stay the current course.
Next year they have 43.1M in cap commitment so far.
That roster would be:
Kessel (8.) - Kadri (2.9) - JVR (4.25)
Lupul (5.25) - Bozak (4.2) - Clarkson (5.25)
Orr (0.925) - ******* - McLaren (0.7)
******* - ******* - *******
*******
Liles (3.875) - Gunnarsson (3.15)
Rielly (0.895) - *******
******* - *******
*******
Bernier (2.9)
*******
RFA: Reimer, Franson, Gardiner, Ashton
UFA: Phaneuf, Bolland, Kulemin, McLement, Raymond, Bodie, Smithson, Fraser, Ranger
Of those RFA/UFAs, if the Leafs brought them all back at the same salary the Leafs would sit with approximately a 65 million dollar cap roster. The current cap is 64.3M so let's just say hypothetically that it jumps to 70 million next year, that would give the Leafs with less than 5 million to augment the contracts of Reimer, Franson, McLement, Gardiner and Raymond.
I can see the argument that Kulemin gets a similar contract to his 2.8 million. I'll buy Phaneuf at 6.5 (although I think he's going to cost more) but those other guys are in for raises.
Reimer at least is going to be pretty darn close to Bernier's 2.9M, so that is an extra 1.1M on the cap.
McLement based on other PK/faceoff specialists would be sitting in the Boyd Gordon territory and could range anywhere from 2-3.5M, so you either add an extra 500-1M or let him walk.
Raymond is worth double his 1M salary at least, so again 1-1.5M at mininum.
Gardiner maybe you get away with 500K increase to 1.5M or so.
Maybe the Leafs get creative and find ways to unload Liles contract, but having 5.25M guys who score like Colby Armstrong is not how you build a cup contender.
Britishbulldog
Active member
L K said:
I see it as this if the cap only goes to $70 MIL with needing to unload Liles or Gunnarsson to fit:
(Based on revenues last year and the optimism this year I suspect the the cap will raise to $74 -75 MIL)
*Guessing Salary
CAPGEEK.COM ARMCHAIR GM ROSTER
CapGeek Armchair GM Roster
FORWARDS
James Van Riemsdyk ($4.250m) / Tyler Bozak ($4.200m) / Phil Kessel ($8.000m)
Joffrey Lupul ($5.250m) / Nazem Kadri ($2.900m) / *Nikolai Kulemin ($3.000m)
*Jay McClement ($1.500m) / *Dave Bolland ($4.200m) / David Clarkson ($5.250m)
Frazer McLaren ($0.700m) / Jerred Smithson ($0.550m) / Josh Leivo ($0.793m)
Troy Bodie ($0.600m) / Colton Orr ($0.925m)
DEFENSEMENJoffrey Lupul ($5.250m) / Nazem Kadri ($2.900m) / *Nikolai Kulemin ($3.000m)
*Jay McClement ($1.500m) / *Dave Bolland ($4.200m) / David Clarkson ($5.250m)
Frazer McLaren ($0.700m) / Jerred Smithson ($0.550m) / Josh Leivo ($0.793m)
Troy Bodie ($0.600m) / Colton Orr ($0.925m)
Carl Gunnarsson ($3.150m) / *Dion Phaneuf ($7.000m)
*Jake Gardiner ($1.827m) / *Cody Franson ($4.500m)
Morgan Rielly ($0.894m) / *Mark Fraser ($1.275m)
John-Michael Liles ($3.875m) /
GOALTENDERS*Jake Gardiner ($1.827m) / *Cody Franson ($4.500m)
Morgan Rielly ($0.894m) / *Mark Fraser ($1.275m)
John-Michael Liles ($3.875m) /
Jonathan Bernier ($2.900m)
*James Reimer ($2.900m)
BUYOUTS*James Reimer ($2.900m)
Mike Komisarek ($0.000m)
Mikhail Grabovski ($0.000m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $70,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $71,288,542; BONUSES: $982,500
CAP SPACE (23-man roster): -$438,542