MAPLE LEAFS
Healthy scratch with hefty contract raises questions
Coach says Clarkson could be scratched against Rangers — at least he’ll have some new tunes to listen to at the ACC,
It’s no fun being in David Clarkson’s shoes right now, but he isn’t the only high-priced hockey player having his ice time cut.
The Leafs forward could very well sit out a second consecutive game as a healthy scratch on Tuesday night, when the New York Rangers visit. It’s an unhealthy situation for the $37-million winger, but while he watched Saturday night’s 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers from the pressbox, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault benched his entire top line — Martin St. Louis, Derek Stepan and Rick Nash (the NHL’s leading goal scorer) — for the final 5:29 of the second period in an overtime loss to Nashville.
Vigneault said later that he was sending a message that their performance wasn’t acceptable. Leafs coach Peter Horachek is trying the same approach.
“I haven’t made any final decisions (on Tuesday’s lineup), but we had a winning combination (against the Oilers),” Horachek said Monday.
Horachek is aware of the optics. It’s not often that a player with a huge five-year contract, like Clarkson, gets stuck in the pressbox for more than one game. The coach, though, has other issues in the aftermath of an 11-game winless skid.
There’s been criticism of his defencefirst approach to a roster that seems to have lost the ability to score, which had been their lone strength.
“I know of the (contract) and I know the political ramifications of what goes on,” Horachek said, “but I have to . . . give my team the best chance to win.”
“Fortunately I have two kids at home and they put a smile on your face.” LEAF DAVID CLARKSON
Clarkson was diplomatic about the scratch, saying every player expected “something” to happen given the team’s slide before Saturday’s win.
“With the way things have been going for a while here, sure . . . but it’s never easy,” Clarkson said. “It’s behind me now and you have to move on. The good thing is our team won that game.”
They will likely “move on” without Clarkson for at least one more game.
The popular winger faced the media Monday for the first time since Saturday’s win.
At the time, signing a huge freeagent deal with his hometown team in the summer of 2013 seemed like a dream come true for a player who’d once been overlooked in the National Hockey League draft. Now, struggling for the second straight season, that dream seems to be turning into a nightmare.
“You have to move forward . . . Fortunately I have two kids at home and they put a smile on your face,” Clarkson said. “But obviously, it was hard (when he got the news about the scratch).”
Clarkson, though, knows he needs to do better.
He has just three goals in his last 30 games. He was brought to Toronto, in part, because of his power-play production, but he’s gone 43 games without a power-play point.
“I did talk to him . . . we expect a lot — and we expect a lot from everyone. They have to bring more to the table,” Horachek said, adding that he’s enamoured of the play of Richard Panik, who has been taking Clarkson’s minutes and is getting a look on the power play.
“I like a lot of things with Richard’s game. He’s strong, he’s young, he has a great skill set. It’s just a question of him understanding where he is on the ice, but I like the way he’s progressing.”
Clarkson, meanwhile, will wait for the call.
“I’m not sure if I’m going to play (Tuesday) . . . I’m not sure what’s going to happen,” Clarkson said.