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Leafs @ Bruins - Nov. 9th, 7:00pm - CBC, SN 590

I will say this about Clarkson, his possession numbers have been solid despite logging some very tough minutes.  And even just by the eyesight test, his minutes have been tough - last game I counted 5 or 6 different times he took 2,3,4 hits along the boards in the NJ end.  He gets pounded on by slogging through those tough areas.
 
L K said:
Strangelove said:
I'd like to see Randy switch Lupul and Clarkson. Spread around the scoring depth and try to get them both going a bit.

He won't.
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The only place Clarkson should be moved to is down in the lineup.  If he can't be bothered to forecheck hard for all his minutes, he shouldn't be getting ice time.  The guy floats around and from what I have seen so far is incapable of creating his own offense.  His handful of offensive zone cycles were nice to see but he hasn't sustained that effort at all since his first game.  I didn't like the signing from the beginning but the guy looks like he's going to be an anchor on the Leafs cap.

Let's just keep him in mind when the Leafs are struggling to sign a guy like Cody Franson (who hasn't been great this year) who has put up 60 points in 118 games on the Leafs blueline.  Or when they have to maneuver things to sign Nazem Kadri to an extension after his 57 points in 64 games.

But hey, David Clarkson over his last two years 70 points in 128 games.  Also if we are keeping track of things: Clarkson had 10 goals and 16 points in 14 games to start the year last year.

He is now on a stretch of  5 goals, 4 assists, 9 points in 40 games since that point (34 games with the Devils and 6 with the Leafs).  Just to point that out it is a 10 goal 18 point pace.  Clarkson has seasons under his belt of 22, 32, 18 points under his belt.  He has ONE 46 point season and two abbreviated seasons with 24 points in 46 and 48 games respectively - that's 41 and 43 point pace seasons. 

So let's all look forward to 7 years of a guy with a production history that puts him squarely in the middle of a 20-40 point season.  He's a tiny guy who at times plays tough and those guys don't tend to fair well from a longevity standpoint.  Fantastic.
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I pretty much agree actually.  Definitely, when he started off by complaining about his ice-time and role, he didn't endear himself to me at all and he has shown effectively nothing since.  But for better or worse we're stuck with him and it'll be better for both him and the Leafs if he's put in a position to succeed.

My comment was more directed at the fact that Lupul and Kadri have a history of playing well together.  I wasn't suggesting that Clarkson deserves to be on the first line.

I have to wonder why the Leafs have had a relatively successful record on trades over the past several years and a horrible one on FA signings.  Do they trot out the idiot scouts for the latter?
 
i don't think i've been the most excited person about clarkson being here..but i think his body of work so far this year is far too small to be making any judgements ...he missed basically a month of hockey..and this is his first year with this team...seems way too early to be making decisions about how his entire contract is going to go
 
Boston has been having a Leaf like season so far. Getting outplayed and out chanced but scoring lucky goals at opportune times. Rask is the real deal. Won't be surprised if he wins the vezina this year.
 
mc said:
Boston has been having a Leaf like season so far. Getting outplayed and out chanced but scoring lucky goals at opportune times. Rask is the real deal. Won't be surprised if he wins the vezina this year.
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It's funny you say that, I look at their current line-up on paper and I'm not really threatened by it. I mean, their two top centers look good, but their line-up overall isn't what it seemed to be when they won the cup.
 
Brad Marchand, I am going to crush your head, crushing it between my powerful fingers, between an indomitable James Reimer thumb and a lightning-fast Phil Kessel forefinger, crushing your irritating little Marchand head, crush, crush, crunch, crush, crushing you. Die, Brad Marchand, die.
 
BlueWhiteBlood said:
mc said:
Boston has been having a Leaf like season so far. Getting outplayed and out chanced but scoring lucky goals at opportune times. Rask is the real deal. Won't be surprised if he wins the vezina this year.
Click to expand...

It's funny you say that, I look at their current line-up on paper and I'm not really threatened by it. I mean, their two top centers look good, but their line-up overall isn't what it seemed to be when they won the cup.
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Their top-2 centers are quite good plus they have one of the top couple defensemen in the league over the past decade plus a vezina-quality goaltender.  That's sort of a classic recipe for building a quality team.
 
princedpw said:
BlueWhiteBlood said:
mc said:
Boston has been having a Leaf like season so far. Getting outplayed and out chanced but scoring lucky goals at opportune times. Rask is the real deal. Won't be surprised if he wins the vezina this year.
Click to expand...

It's funny you say that, I look at their current line-up on paper and I'm not really threatened by it. I mean, their two top centers look good, but their line-up overall isn't what it seemed to be when they won the cup.
Click to expand...

Their top-2 centers are quite good plus they have one of the top couple defensemen in the league over the past decade plus a vezina-quality goaltender.  That's sort of a classic recipe for building a quality team.
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Well, that recipe seems to missing a few ingredients from their cup team, that's all I'm saying.
 
I think Boston took a step back this season with their cap moves. Ference really tied their whole defence together and gave them a solid 1 through 6. Now there's some holes there to exploit on the blueline. Peverely was a key part to their 3rd line and he's been replaced essentially by rookies. And I think an aging Iginla for Horton is a step down too. Seguin for Eriksson too in my opinion. Plus Chara ain't getting any younger.

They're definitely still a top team with Krejci and Bergeron down the middle and Rask in net, but as a whole they aren't as good as they once were.
 
More and more I see the Bruins becoming one of those teams built for the playoffs rather than the regular season.

Not a lot of flash, just 4 lines built to wear teams down combined with great goaltending and a strong defensive system.
 
BlueWhiteBlood said:
mc said:
Boston has been having a Leaf like season so far. Getting outplayed and out chanced but scoring lucky goals at opportune times. Rask is the real deal. Won't be surprised if he wins the vezina this year.
Click to expand...

It's funny you say that, I look at their current line-up on paper and I'm not really threatened by it. I mean, their two top centers look good, but their line-up overall isn't what it seemed to be when they won the cup.
Click to expand...

I'll say this about Boston, They'd look a hell of a lot better with Phil Kessel on there top line.
 
I'm hoping little of this from Kessel and Kadri tonight
pYEbFcH.gif
 
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