Pete Deboer on TSN Drive: View on Clarkson and the trade: Clarkson is a great kid. Actually, at the time, I really thought he as going to help the Leafs. It was case of Murphy’s Law; everything that could go wrong did go wrong… big contract, huge expectations, people throwing out Clarkson like Wendel Clark in that vein. He tried to do everything right; look at that 10-game suspension, that’s exactly what every coach wants his team to do, stick up for their best players, and he ends up with 10-game suspension to start the season. Trying to do the right...

Bob McKenzie on TSN Drive: On trading Horton for Clarkson and not Semin or Richards: I couldn’t honestly tell you that I know for a fact there was conversation between . What I can suggest that is, of those three you mentioned – Clarkson, Semin, Richards - Semin wasn’t a fit in the eyes of Columbus. They were not looking for a high-end, underachieving goal-scoring winger. I don’t think they were eager to bring in another center in Richards. I think Clarkson fit the profile of what they were looking for: A guy to go up and down the wing and...

Best day ever? Best day ever. The David Clarkson era ends, the Zach Sill era begins. Maple Leafs Projected Lines James van Riemsdyk - Tyler Bozak - Phil Kessel Joffrey Lupul - Nazem Kadri - Richard Panik Leo Komarov - Olli Jokinen - David Clarkson Zach Sill - Peter Holland - David Booth Dion Phaneuf - Korbinian Holzer Morgan Rielly - Roman Polak Jake Gardiner - Stephane Robidas Jonathan Bernier James Reimer Scratched: Brandon Kozun, Petter Granberg Injured: Trevor Smith (lower body)

This is an amazing save by the Leafs and MLSE, flexing their financial muscle to expunge the worst contract mistake in team history. On Long Term Injured Reserve and effectively off the cap* (note: there are some ramifications on the cap for LTIR), Nathan Horton's career looks to be over due to horrible back injuries. From a piece by Greg Wyshynski: “I can’t stand up like a normal person; I can’t bend over. I can’t run. I can’t play with my kids. To get in and out of the car, I’m like a 75-year-old man … so slow and stiff. I can’t sleep at night. I...

The Leafs have re-acquired defenceman TJ Brennan in exchange for forward Spencer Abbott. https://twitter.com/alexfan590/status/571059990909345793 The Leafs re-signed Abbott, a former free agent signing out of college, while letting Brennan go last July, and have evidently decided to reverse their decision with this trade.. After an All-Star AHL season with 69 points in 66 games (and 11 more points in 11 playoff games), a season which included his first NHL game as a callup, Abbott took a considerable step back this season and, turning 27 in a few months, doesn’t appear to have a future at the highest level. Reasonably skilled but undersized and not particularly...

With the Daniel Winnik trade goes the Leafs' most consistent player of the past couple of months, as the Leafs get necessarily worse in the short term while fetching good value for their final major pending-UFA (Jokinen, Holzer and Booth could be moved, but if there's any value to be had is unknown). Roman Polak, with one year left on his contract, seems to be the most likely remaining candidate to be moved for value, while Tyler Bozak's name has been gaining steam as well, with Bob McKenzie reporting a possible New York Rangers connection yesterday. The Rangers don't ostensibly have the cap room,...

The Leafs receive Zach Sill, a 2nd round pick in 2016 and a 4th round pick in 2015. This is a handsome return for a depth forward and a late summer pickup out of the bargain bin. The second round pick is in 2016, meaning the Leafs are still without one in 2015, but now have two in 2016. The Leafs also retained half of Winnik's $1.3 million salary for the remainder of the season, which helped grease the wheels on the trade for Pittsburgh's cap but is next to meaningless as far as Leafs are concerned given it's a one-year contract. The one thing worth noting...