Clarkson for horton

[CarltonTheBear]

Simmons has a bit of a different take on how the trade went down:

The Maple Leafs front office was meeting the other day, as they do most days, talking about trade possibilities, kicking things around, when a stroke of genius was spoken aloud.

And everyone paused for just a moment to comprehend what was said about the seemingly impossible.

About finding a way to trade David Clarkson.

What about finding a team, it was suggested, that wasn?t up against the salary cap, that had a need to justify all its dollars, that had a player of similar contract being paid for not playing because of injury?

The concept was brilliant: Trade bad contract for bad contract ? with a catch. Could they actually pull this off?

Was there such a team with a match?

They began their due diligence at that moment, going team-by-team, payroll-by-payroll, contract-by-contract, trying to find a home and a fit for a player who didn?t fit and couldn?t find a home with the Leafs.

They stopped at the Columbus Blue Jackets. Perfect, they thought. The Jackets had Nathan Horton not playing. His contract wasn?t insured. Money is tight in Columbus.

Then the phone calls began.

http://www.torontosun.com/2015/02/26/leafs-somehow-manage-to-erase-the-dave-clarkson-mistake

There's one theory out there that maybe the Leafs let Columbus take "credit" for the deal so that they could sell the move as something they really wanted.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Columbus' beat reporter explains why Horton's contract wasn't insured:

Horton arrived with a pre-existing condition -- a chronically separated shoulder -- that could not be covered by insurance, and they knew Horton would miss more than half a season as he rehabilitated following surgery.

The club opted not to buy insurance for the rest of Horton's body and appendages because it would have been impossible for any other illness or injury to cost him half a season. The shoulder had already put him over the threshold.

Then, last summer, when it came time to insure Horton's contract, his back had deteriorated so badly that the Blue Jackets couldn't insure his contract.

http://bluejacketsxtra.dispatch.com/content/blogs/puck-rakers/2015/02/jackets-trade-horton-to-maple-leafs-for-clarkson.html

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Also from that above article is a quote from Clarkson:

"I'm so excited to get back to playing the role I played in New Jersey

haha bite me buddy

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Also from that above article is a quote from Clarkson:

"I'm so excited to get back to playing the role I played in New Jersey

haha bite me buddy

And that role was?  I keep reading references to Clarkson getting back to his "role" but never defining what that was.

 

[L K]

Also from that above article is a quote from Clarkson:

"I'm so excited to get back to playing the role I played in New Jersey

haha bite me buddy

2006-2011: 298GP 52G 48A 100P
2013-2015: 118GP 15G 11A 26P
Total: 416GP 67G 59A 126P  (0.16 Goal/G = 13G/82GP)  (0.14 Assist/G =12A/82GP)

2011-2013: 148GP 45G 25A 70P  (0.30 Goal/G = 25G/82GP)  (0.17 Assist/G = 14A/82GP)

Hooray for an outlier stretch of 40 point/82GP pace!  One of the best indicators for non-reproducible offense is a guy who gets all of his points scoring goals and nothing from the assist category.  That's exactly how Clarkson had his "career year" when he had a completely unsustainable shooting percentage and had no change in his assist totals. 

 

[bustaheims]

There's one theory out there that maybe the Leafs let Columbus take "credit" for the deal so that they could sell the move as something they really wanted.

Plausible, but I'm not sure I buy it. If that were the case, I imagine it would have taken more than a couple days to come together and taken a little more convincing on the Leafs' part. I also really prefer the world where the only part Dave Nonis really had in this was saying yes and making sure Clarkson said yes . . . though, if it went down the way Simmons describes it, this was definitely Pridham's brainchild.

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

Also from that above article is a quote from Clarkson:

"I'm so excited to get back to playing the role I played in New Jersey

haha bite me buddy

Please, God, now that you've delivered the miracle of the Clarkson trade, I do have one small final request.  Please let him jump off the bench to join a scrum in his first game for Columbus, it would be ever so funny.

 

[herman]

Simmons has a bit of a different take on how the trade went down:

--snip--

There's one theory out there that maybe the Leafs let Columbus take "credit" for the deal so that they could sell the move as something they really wanted.

That's quite the yarn; the true tale may yet come out after the dust has settled. In both stories (Craig Custance's/Bob McKenzie's tweets, Steve Simmons'), Nonis is only the executor of the transaction. In any case, it is a great outside-the-box transaction where both sides end up happy.

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

Clip of Nonis informing Clarkson of the trade. (NSFW)

[youtube]YhkNLHictW8&app=desktop[/youtube]

 

[princedpw]

I'm back.  I have a small amount of hope again.

Like Nik, I would have taken those 100-1 odds that Clarkson would never be traded.  I thought it was a legit question as to whether Clarkson had the worst contract (from the perspective of a rich team like the Leafs) in the history of the NHL.  Literally, no exaggeration.  Given that they managed to trade him, he probably no longer qualifies as worst contract in NHL history.  Hooray!

I must say I was also doing some mental exercises:  Suppose we got McDavid by a stroke of luck.  He is projected to play well above his rookie cap number, but would he play sufficiently above his cap number to negate the drag that was Clarkson's cap number? Clarkson's cap hit would last throughout McDavid's rookie contract and beyond. Now, we'll definitely never have to think about that.

Bring on the 7-year rebuild!

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

@DownGoesBrown  ?  15 hours ago
Trying to picture the look on Nonis's face when the Jackets called with that offer. How much time did he spend looking for hidden cameras?

;D ;D ;D ;D

 

[Joe S.]

It wouldn't surprise me if somehow the NHL finds a way to fine the leafs for this.

This was one of my first thoughts too.

Question is though, why would the NHL office approve this if that's the case? It's not like they are blindsided by a deal like this when it has to pass through them.

Who knows - this is the same league that decided to review Luongo and Pronger's contract years after they were signed...

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

It wouldn't surprise me if somehow the NHL finds a way to fine the leafs for this.

This was one of my first thoughts too.

Question is though, why would the NHL office approve this if that's the case? It's not like they are blindsided by a deal like this when it has to pass through them.

Who knows - this is the same league that decided to review Luongo and Pronger's contract years after they were signed...

Bill Daly said the league looked at the trade, as they do with them all, no issues.

 

[bustaheims]

Just one thing to keep in mind with Horton - he does still count against the cap until the Leafs need the space in season. He could also present an issue if the Leafs exceed the cap due to bonuses. LTIR space does not cover those, as the Leafs found out a few seasons ago thanks to the Mike Van Ryn situation.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Just one thing to keep in mind with Horton - he does still count against the cap until the Leafs need the space in season. He could also present an issue if the Leafs exceed the cap due to bonuses. LTIR space does not cover those, as the Leafs found out a few seasons ago thanks to the Mike Van Ryn situation.

Having a capologist who knows what LTIR actually stands for makes me more comfortable that they'll navigate those waters properly.

One thing that I didn't know about LTIR is that it doesn't pro-rate like regular cap space does.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

According to LeBrun the sens also talked to the Leafs about Clarkson:

Sources tell ESPN.com that the Ottawa Senators had a few conversations with the Toronto Maple Leafs about a Clarkson trade, the idea behind it that perhaps the right winger could rediscover himself in Canada's capital away from Toronto.

In a way, it's not a surprise because the Senators tried hard to sign Clarkson when he was a free agent two years ago but lost out to the Maple Leafs.

Not exactly sure how far down the road the Ottawa-Toronto trade conversation went, but I know the Senators finally decided that the money wouldn't work. Even with the Leafs potentially taking a few contracts back, the term left on Clarkson's deal, I think, scared off the Senators. Clarkson has five more years on his deal after this season at a $5.25 million cap hit.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/34837/senators-had-talks-with-leafs-about-obtaining-clarkson

Not sure how that would have made sense for Ottawa.

 

[Bullfrog]

Simmons has a bit of a different take on how the trade went down:

There's one theory out there that maybe the Leafs let Columbus take "credit" for the deal so that they could sell the move as something they really wanted.

It also makes it sound a bit like the team actually wanted Clarkson. So, win-win for everybody?

 

[Frank E]

According to LeBrun the sens also talked to the Leafs about Clarkson:

Sources tell ESPN.com that the Ottawa Senators had a few conversations with the Toronto Maple Leafs about a Clarkson trade, the idea behind it that perhaps the right winger could rediscover himself in Canada's capital away from Toronto.

In a way, it's not a surprise because the Senators tried hard to sign Clarkson when he was a free agent two years ago but lost out to the Maple Leafs.

Not exactly sure how far down the road the Ottawa-Toronto trade conversation went, but I know the Senators finally decided that the money wouldn't work. Even with the Leafs potentially taking a few contracts back, the term left on Clarkson's deal, I think, scared off the Senators. Clarkson has five more years on his deal after this season at a $5.25 million cap hit.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/34837/senators-had-talks-with-leafs-about-obtaining-clarkson

Not sure how that would have made sense for Ottawa.

Sounds a little fishy...everybody and their cousin knew how much term was left on Clarkson's deal, so suggesting that the term of the deal is what scared them off is a little weird if they were the one's inquiry about the possibility of a deal.

 

[Boston Leaf]

all water under the bridge now... ;D

 

[CarltonTheBear]

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