Leafs David Clarkson Trade Has Everything to Do With Mitch Marner
By Charles Nason
The Toronto Maple Leafs just made a deal that would have any hockey fan rolling with laughter. Trading goaltender Garret Sparks to Las Vegas for David Clarkson and a fourth-round pick sounds ridiculous on paper. However, Leafs' GM Kyle Dubas probably made the deal with one thing in mind: locking up Mitch Marner.
Clarkson's career has been on a downward trajectory for the past 4 or 5 seasons. The Maple Leafs certainly didn't acquire him for offensive production, or even the physicality that has defined his career. So, there must've been some ulterior motive behind the trade.
The Clarkson deal is not about acquiring an asset for Sparks, this is a cap move. May seem odd to acquire a $5.25m contract when your team is tight to the cap, but this is purely a LTIR move for the #Leafs to enter the season with Marner unsigned.
— Earl Schwartz (@EarlSchwartz27) July 23, 2019
Dubas and the Leafs probably never planned to have Clarkson suit up and join the starting lineup. Instead, they'll likely place him on their LTIR (Long-Term Injured Reserve) to create more cap space to eventually sign Marner.
The situation is all very complicated. By placing Clarkson, along with fellow veteran Nathan Horton, on LTIR, the Leafs will be able to reduce their salary cap to meet the $81.5 million ceiling.
There is still much that can happen between now and Oct 1, but by acquiring David Clarkson's contract, the #Leafs could now build a roster with a total projected cap hit as high as $92,050,000, and then place both Horton & Clarkson on LTIR to cover the $10.55M difference. https://t.co/fdTTVz90zB
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) July 23, 2019
Placing players on LTIR creates a pool of useable cap space. Between Horton and Clarkson, that pool space would be roughly $10.55 million. Realistically, that money will drop to around $8 million.
However, this move doesn't magically create cap space. It instead creates a cap pool that the Leafs wouldn't have otherwise.
Overall, the acquisition of Clarkson allows the Leafs to enter the season with Mitch Marner unsigned. The Leafs can sign Marner whenever they choose, but considering the standoff that's lasted the entire offseason, that probably won't happen until the season begins.
Belive it or not, this move actually benefits the Leafs. With a new player signed to an overly-expensive deal, they can build their LTIR pool and hopefully use the cap difference to eventually sign Marner, should they choose.