Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but there’s speculation that the Toronto Maple Leafs should bump up the physical element of their game by targeting a hardnosed player in free agency.
That player, who is from the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke, can help get them to a new level. He isn’t a superstar per se, but he’s a high-value role player who…
Wait, you’re telling us to stop, right? You should be, anyway. While the player we could be talking about is current Florida Panthers center and pending UFA Sam Bennett, the Maple Leafs’ recent history has two clear examples of robust physical types who never lived up to expectations after the Buds acquired them. That’s why Toronto should be firmly in buyer-beware mode when it comes to acquiring Bennett.
For instance, the Leafs acquired center Dave Bolland from the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2013 NHL draft. Bolland had a 19-goal, 37-point season with the Hawks in 2011-12 before recording 14 points in 35 games in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign. The Etobicoke native brought ruggedness as a nose-to-the-grindstone competitor.
Around the same time in 2013, the Buds signed veteran right winger David Clarkson to a seven-year, $36.75-million contract. Clarkson had a career-best 30-goal, 46-point season with the New Jersey Devils in 2011-12 and 15 goals and 24 points in 48 games in 2012-13.
The Leafs signed Clarkson to bring a tough approach and relentless physical drive to the team. But Leafs fans know what happened next to both players.
Bolland played only 23 games as a Maple Leaf, producing just eight goals and 12 points before he left for the Panthers in 2014-15. He would go on to play only 78 more NHL games.
Meanwhile, Clarkson played only 118 regular-season games as a Leaf, posting only 15 goals and 26 points in that span before Toronto traded the Etobicoke native to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a full-on salary dump in February 2015. Clarkson played only 26 more NHL games before injuries brought about his retirement in 2016.
Now, do you see where we’re headed with the Leafs potentially acquiring Bennett? It’s nearly uncanny how similar Bennett (who, yes, lives in Etobicoke during the off-season) is in comparison to Bolland and Clarkson.
Bennett hasn’t scored 30 goals in a season like Clarkson did, but he has produced at least 20 goals three times in his 10-year NHL career. To his credit, and unlike the others, Bennett has at least 40 points in each of his past four seasons, cracking a career-high 51 points this year.
Like Clarkson and Bolland, however, Bennett has logged many miles on his competitive odometer. In fact, he’s played 691 career games, while Clarkson played 570 games, and Bolland played 433. In the playoffs, Bennett is at 100 career games, compared to 44 for Clarkson and 67 for Bolland.
Bennett has 1,294 career hits, also more than Clarkson’s 1,166 and Bolland’s 461. Now, at 28 years old, Bennett will look to cash in on the free-agent market this summer.
So yes, although history doesn’t always repeat itself, Bennett’s similarities to Bolland and Clarkson can’t be ignored.
Bennett may not want to play for the Maple Leafs, but as a Southern Ontario guy, Bennett may be lured into the Blue & White if he gets enough money and contract term to come to the Leafs.
This is why it’s so important for any team, Toronto included, to develop physical players at the beginning of their NHL days. When years of physicality take their toll on veterans, teams wind up having a shell of the player they thought they were getting when they acquired them in the first place.
Ultimately, Bennett could prove to be the piece of the puzzle the Maple Leafs have been searching for. But putting so much faith in one ruggedly hardened player could easily backfire once again for Toronto. Clarkson and Bolland weren’t necessarily seen as saviors for the Leafs, but like Bennett would be if and when he does join the Leafs, they were definitely held up as helping to shepherd in a new era for the Buds.
So if it does all turn out the same sorry way again regarding Bennett, no one should be shocked. It would be unfortunate for a player who deserves a ton of credit for his high effort and physicality, but he could be another player who joins the Leafs past their best-before date.
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