Clarkson’s Jacket time not a complete loss
COLUMBUS, OHIO— David Clarkson played just three games for the Columbus Blue Jackets before the team shut down his season, announcing the former Maple Leaf had a torn oblique muscle.
Any other veteran might have headed home — in Clarkson’s case, back to Mimico — and told his team he would see them next season. Not Clarkson. Part of the reason Clarkson okayed his deal out of Toronto, where his playing time had diminished in a season gone sour, was to give himself time to get to know his new home and his new teammates.
Clarkson has not only hung around his new teammates, he has travelled with the team and now he is skating again.
“It’s awesome,” Nick Foligno, the Blue Jackets’ leading scorer, said Tuesday. “It says a lot about him. I didn’t know a lot about him when he first got here. He’s been an awesome addition to our team. Guys love him.
“I know it’s hard on you when you’re not playing. But he’s made himself available and around. I think he really wants to engrain himself on this team. He’s going to be a big part of this team. We fully expect it next year when he’s healthy.”
There were high hopes for Clarkson in Toronto two summers ago when he signed a seven-year, $36.75million deal with the Leafs, leaving the Devils as a free agent.
But things never worked out. He was used mostly as a third-liner.
Clarkson wasn’t alone in disappointing Leafs fans this season, but he certainly was a lightning rod for fan anger. His deal was deemed to be unmovable, with more than $27-million of the deal tied up in signing bonuses that could not be bought out.
But Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen was in a tight spot as well. He had signed forward Nathan Horton to a seven-year, $37-million deal. Horton might never play again due to a bad back. Trading one bad contract for another was a match made in salary cap heaven.
“I liked David Clarkson a lot before,” said Kekalainen. “I saw him play in Kitchener, I liked him in junior, I liked what he did in New Jersey and how he was a big part of that team’s success.
“Our evaluation of him is not based on his last couple of years in Toronto.”
The Leafs can get cap relief — if they need it — for Horton’s salary. In a practical sense, his salary doesn’t count against the cap as long as he is on long-term injured reserve.
The Blue Jackets were happy to get a player who can play for all that money for one who can’t. The Jackets aren’t a rich team. The Leafs can afford to pay a player not to play.
“Any trade, there’s usually something where you’re trading because something’s not going great,” said Kekalainen. “We’re hoping a change of scenery will do wonders for (Clarkson), that he gets back on his form that he had in New Jersey.”
Clarkson’s effort to get to know everybody is not lost on those around him.
“When you acquire somebody, you make phone calls and you start to ask questions of what type of player he is, what type of person off the ice. All the reports I got back were good,” said Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards.
“I would have liked for him to have finished the season (playing), to see more of him and his game. (But) my interaction with him has been good. Looks like he’s fit right in to the group.
“There’s a lot of respect for him from the guys in the room and what he’s done in his career. It was unfortunate, a new guy coming in, you get injured and you’re done for the year. Not a good situation, but he’s trying to make the most of it.”