For all the shit he gets, the dude bleeds white and blue and is a Maple Leaf forever in my mind.
It blows my mind that guys like Sundin can refuse to be moved because they, and I quote, "...want to retire a Maple Leaf..." so we don't move them, we can't move them, they "retire" then half way through the next season sign a "1 year" (half year) contract with another team for "one more shot at the cup".
We got NOTHING for Sundin. This whole rebuild could have started sooner (probably wouldn't have gone anywhere because lets face it, it wouldn't have been done right but thats not really relevant) if we recieved a couple picks or prospects for Sundin, yet we got NOTHING and this guy is heralded as a champion of the Leafs. I get it, he played well for the team but when push came to shove, he was selfish and did what he wanted for himself, not for the Leafs.
Yet heres DAVID FUCKING CLARKSON, the guy who grew up cheering for the Leafs. Who's only crime in signing with the Leafs, HIS CHILDHOOD TEAM AND THE TEAM HE DREAMED OF PLAYING FOR, FOREVER was Leafs management offering him and arm and a leg when he was worth maybe a toe or two.
He signed a deal ANYONE would have signed to play for his dream team, he wanted more than anyone to win here and when he realised it wasn't going to happen and that HE was weighing down the team, HE WAIVED HIS NO MOVEMENT AND LIMITED NO TRADE CLAUSE to be traded ALLOWING THIS TEAM TO START ITS REBUILD WITH THE GAINED CAP SPACE.
He didn't have to be traded! He didn't have to waive his NMC. IDK for certain but he probably even waived his LNTC because WHO THE FUCK WANTS TO PLAY IN COLUMBUS (Sorry Columbus fans)?! He did it all for the Leafs, for the Fans, for his home fucking team.
And year in and year out since, all that gets stated is how he's "Trash" and "No Salary Retained!"
Fuck I get it, I really do, but can we give the guy SOME credit and not fucking drag him through the mud any more?! Can we not fucking nail him to a cross and insult him when it for past managements sins?! Can we say nice things about the guy and remember him for the organizational player he was, and not some selfish fuck that wanted to play for the Leafs and no one else?
He said some funny stuff that got caught on tape, he made some stupid plays that were probably blind mistakes made out of love for the team and his teammates but he was a solid team player, he was a man build on integrity and passion for the blue and white and if we win a cup in the next 5 years, Clarkson deserves a bit of recognition as being the type of guy that allowed for moves to happen so a team could move forward and not be weighed down by their mistakes that included him.
The guy deserves to remembered better than "No Salary Retained". He's what I wish every Leafs player would be. To make a move that's best for the team and allow a team to make the moves it wants rather than be weighed down by your contract and held back because it's what the player wants. If only every Leafs player could have his integrity, his passion for the Maple Leaf.