– Former Leafs GM Dave Nonis on the David Clarkson contract, July of 2013
It turns out year seven of David Clarkson’s contract might turn out to be the most helpful one for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It is quite the twist in happenstance. As it turns out, the seventh year of the Clarkson deal will overlap the first year of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner’s second deals in Toronto — exactly the sort of scenario the Leafs were looking to avoid when they jettisoned his contract and took back Nathan Horton in return in the deal with Columbus back in 2015.