It appears we have the most shocking NHL trade of the week and it's hard to imagine this one being topped.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired David Clarkson from the Toronto Maple Leafs for injured forward Nathan Horton.
Clarkson has struggled mightily since joining the Maple Leafs as a big-money unrestricted free agent two summers ago. Meanwhile, Horton is dealing with a degenerative back injury that has left him out of the Blue Jackets lineup all season and could potentially end his career.
“David Clarkson has been a 30-goal scorer in the NHL who will bring added character and leadership to our group and we believe he will be a valuable contributor to our team,” said Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen. “While we are excited to welcome David to the Blue Jackets, it is also difficult that Nathan’s time here has ended prematurely due to his injury situation. He is a tremendous person and we wish him and his family all the best in the future.”
This could end up being a miraculous contract dump for the Maple Leafs, but if Horton somehow manages to return from the injury, they have a veteran top-six forward with a history of production and a Stanley Cup on his resume. It’s a low-risk, high-reward type deal, especially while getting rid of Clarkson's albatross contract. That said, the likelihood of Horton coming back from his injury appears low.
In two seasons with the Maple Leafs, Clarkson has registered 26 points in 118 games. He carries a $5.25 million cap hit and is under contract through the 2019-20 season.
Horton managed to play in just 36 games last season after signing with the Blue Jackets as a free agent the summer prior. He had 19 points over that span. He carries a $5.3 million cap hit and is also under contract through the 2019-20 season.
The question here is why would an often sensible team like the Blue Jackets take on such a big contract while they can simply stash Horton on long-term injured reserve? TSN's Bob McKenzie shared some of the logic behind the deal:
Here's bottom line on Clarkson-Horton trade: Horton's contract wasn't insured. CBJ paying him to sit in stands and he's longshot to play.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 26, 2015
CBJ would rather pay Clarkson and have the player in the lineup. TOR must pay Horton's salary so there's no actual $ saving, BUT...
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 26, 2015
The "BUT" there is that Toronto can stash Horton on LTIR, continue which gives them the cap space even though they're probably going to end up paying Horton to not play. Sometimes it pays to be a deep-pocketed team in a cap world.
The Maple Leafs rid themselves of Clarkson, the Blue Jackets actually get to pay someone to play hockey and Clarkson gets a fresh start. The deal still would appear to be a win for the Maple Leafs because they get a bunch of cap space and rid themselves of a contract that has been an anchor since the day it was signed. As the richest team in the league, they can afford to pay Horton not to play a lot more easily than Columbus could.
Clarkson might flourish in Columbus, he might continue on this downward trend he's been on since joining the Leafs. At this point, the Blue Jackets organization simply couldn't afford to pay someone that wasn't playing while also trying to fill out a roster that can be competitive. In that regard it's a deal they had to make, but Horton's unfortunate injury put them in a no-win situation basically.
In 544 NHL games, Clarkson has 196 points including 112 goals. Horton posted 421 points in 621 games over his career.
