$5.25 million + 7 years + 71 = David Clarkson falling down.... A lot.Whether it was the Wendel Clark comparisons, or the awful "He's coming" commercials , last seasons David Clarkson signing was set up to explode in the Leafs faces right from the get go.
Clarkson, coming off two solid seasons with the New Jersey devils (128GP, 48G, 25A, 73Pts), one of course highlighted by 30 goals. Although his numbers are solid, they weren't mind blowing, Clarkson was a hot commodity on the free agent market last offseason, drawing interest from multiple teams including the Edmonton Oilers and of course our Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs "won" the sweepstakes and gave Clarkson a massive 7yr $5.25 million dollar contract, potentially leading Dave Nonis to receive the prestigious; "most crippling and horribly crafted contract in the history of paper and pens" award. A contract that if he were still around Brian Burke would have never in his wildest dreams offered a player who over his previous two seasons was a 0.57 point per game player, but apparently Dave Nonis gets distracted by shiny things like one single 30 goal season.
There is no doubt that some blame has to be placed on the player when they have a train wreck season like Clarkson did in 2013/14 (60GP, 5G, 6A, 11Pts) especially when you decide to take the number, or a variation of the number of the legendary player you are being compared to, and start the season with a shiny new 10 game suspension, earned in meaningless preseason hockey. The contract and player were the laughing stock of the league, and will probably continue to be until the contract ends in the 2019/20 season......oh god.
Fast forward to this season, Clarkson had been playing on a line alongside Leo Komarov and Mike Santorelli (as well as getting his fair share of PP time) a line which was arguably the most effective and productive in terms of the role the line needed to play. Clarkson is off to a blazing start with 3G 1A and 4Pts in 11 GP this season (yes that scentence is full of sarcasm). Numbers aside Clarkson has looked far more comfortable and effective in his third line checking role, not to mention him and uncle Leo appear to have some great chemistry. Now, it's awesome to see him playing at a higher level, and I want nothing more than to see him succeed and play well, however his 4 points in 11 games has seen some fans acting like Clarkson is going to live up to every penny of his massive contract, which leads to the following statement; David Clarkson will never again score 30 goals in a season, nor will he ever live up to anywhere close to the expectations associated with his massive contract. By all means get excited that he has 4 points in 11 games when it took him 60 to get 11 last year, all I'm saying is let's temper the expectations, a solid season for Clarkson in my mind would see him continue to embrace his checking role and be effective by playing like a pest, and maybe scoring 12-15 goals along with maybe 20 assists, are those $5.25 million dollar worthy stats, not at all, but the expectations placed on this mans shoulders when he signed here last offseason were only setting him up to be a dissapointment in the eyes of Leafs nation.
Long story short, I want nothing but success for David Clarkson as a fan of this team, and as a fan of underdog stories, but let's not include Mimico on the parade route just yet. Also Dave Nonis is the worst, and his decisions are questionable to say the least. So here is to a great season for David Clarkson, hopefully he keeps up with the play we have seen so far from him this season, one final thing to mention, for the analysts who think the reason behind Clarkson's play is the face shield..... I can't even.
What would a successful season for David Clarkson be in your eyes? Let us know in the comment section below ! Also don't forget to check out our website thefrancisreport.ca for links to our podcast, Twitter and Facebook !
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