Much Ado About Clarkson…

A couple of years ago, an Eastern Conference GM said of David Clarkson “I would lock him up for twelve years.” Unfortunately, however, that view may no longer exist. During the 08-09 season, Clarkson tallied 17 goals and 15 assists, and looked like a young, enforcing player on the rise for the Devils. He had a fairly good scoring touch to go along with his physical play, and could drop the gloves effectively whenever his team needed him to. Much of this is still true; however, it appears that “touch” Clarkson has had in the past is on the decline, and, although he is still only 27, any hope the organization had of developing him into a top 6 forward seems to be an afterthought at the moment.

Last summer, the Devils signed Clarkie to a three-year, $8 million deal, after an injury limited him to 46 games in 2009-2010. His stats then declined from his last full season, as David put up only 18 points (with twelve goals and six assists) to go along with an ugly -20. The latter of these stats might be the most concerning; Clarkson struggled on both ends last year. Nevertheless, the Devils needed an enforcer, and he was still able to play that role. Clarkie was involved in 13 fights last year, and ammased 116 penalty minutes along with 170 hits.

This year’s outlook, however, is not so promising for Clarkson. Offensively, although the Devils would love for him to vastly increase his point total, they can also rely on scoring from the likes of Elias, Tedenby and Palmeri at right wing (Elias should find himself on the first two lines, with Parise and Kovalchuk manning those left wing slots he has played most of his career). In the past, what Clarkson has provided physically has made him a vital member of this team; however, the Devils have brought on Cam Janssen and Eric Boulton in the last few weeks, and now have three enforcer-type players on the roster.  With those moves, unless Clarkson is able to improve forechecking-wise and in the points department, his role on the team suddenly comes into question.

Throughout this offseason (even before the Janssen and Boulton signings), many have viewed Clarkson as a potential trade chip, as although his numbers have slipped, he provides a better offensive touch than most other enforcers in the league.  Not only could the Devils now potentially afford to trade Clarkie (with a sufficient amount of forwards who add just as much or more scoring to the first three lines), but trading away his $2 million-plus salary could be important in attempting to negotiate a contract with Zach Parise in the coming weeks.  If Clarkson’s enforcer role is no longer vital to the team, then trading him might not be a terrible idea.

As of right now, I feel there are nine deserving players (not including Clarkson) who could fit on the top three lines.  The way I would formulate each unit (sans Clarkie) right now would be:

Parise-Zajac-Tedenby

Kovalchuk-Josefson-Elias

Rolston-Zubrus-Palmeri

Boulton/Henrique-Steckel/Pelley-Janssen/Zharkov (any combination of these six for the 4th line)

As you can see, the current roster consists of around 16 forwards who could play in the league this year (that does include Henrique, who only played in one game last season).  Based on this fact, it does appear that the Devils could afford to send Clarkson to a team who is in larger need of his services.  A trade could become even more possible if the money it would take to sign Parise might take the Devils over the salary cap; they could find a way to work around this, however.

All this being said, Clarkson has still been a valuable part of this team in the past; although recent signings and a drop in production have hurt his value, there is no reason he couldn’t continue to help (regardless of his role or line he plays on).  Clarkie has always been a fan favorite in New Jersey, and could have a great chance to improve under his former OHL head coach this year (DeBoer’s input could make a difference in keeping him a Devil, in fact).  Unless the team is able to acquire a good prospect (or upgrade somewhere else) in return, they shouldn’t necessarily rush to send him away.

There are still weeks to go before training camp, and much time to consider whether Clarkson should be traded or not.  This could be a very tough decision for management to make, although I wouldn’t expect anything from Lou in the very near future.  Be sure to voice your opinion on the matter in the comments box, as this would make for a very interesting debate.

-Drew