Toronto Maple Leafs Confirm Reach Contract Agreement For Another Top Experienced Star
NHL free agency generates a large amount of excitement throughout the hockey world every year.
In some cases, an NHL team will make a great signing, acquiring a player through a low-term, low-paying contract who brings unexpected results and production to his new team. Maybe they lead the club to a Stanley Cup or two.
On the other hand, NHL teams may sign a player to a long-term contract that pays an extremely high yearly salary. For whatever reason, these contracts tend to be the least successful, as teams tend to get less than desired production and results from these players who have expectations of greatness placed upon them.
The following five players are among the most infamous free-agent signings in NHL history.
Jeff Finger, Toronto Maple Leafs
As has long been the case, the Toronto Maple Leafs were looking to upgrade their blue line through free agency in the summer of 2008. In order to address their need, the Maple Leafs signed Jeff Finger to a four-year contract worth $14 million.
Having only played one full season in the NHL before signing with the Maple Leafs, it is a wonder as to why Toronto offered $3.5 million per season to a player who had yet to prove his place in the NHL. Finger had spent two seasons with the Avalanche, playing 22 games in 2006-07 and 71 games in 2007-08. In those 93 career NHL games, Finger had only scored 24 points but was becoming known league-wide for his strong defensive play.
When the 2008-09 season finally began, the Maple Leafs were hoping Finger would be a strong defensive defenseman. In 66 games, Finger set his NHL career high with 23 points, yet failed to live up to the hype in terms of his strong play in the defensive end. That found Finger watching the games from the press box on more than a few occasions. In his second season, Finger effectively played himself out of the lineup. His poor play limited him to 39 games with Leafs, in which he contributed 10 points.
Eventually, the Leafs chose to waive Finger, sending him to the minors where he played parts of two seasons with the Toronto Marlies. In those two seasons, Finger played 23 and 31 games, the last of his professional hockey career.
David Clarkson, Toronto Maple Leafs
After spending the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the New Jersey Devils, David Clarkson was hitting the free agent market for the first time. The Maple Leafs “won” the sweepstakes, signing the winger to a seven-year, $36.75 million deal.
With the Devils, Clarkson was an average player, if that. In 426 games with the club, he had 97 goals, 170 points and 770 penalty minutes. He did look good in the Devils’ playoff run in 2011-12, where they reached the Stanley Cup Final before falling to the Los Angeles Kings. Clarkson had three goals and 12 points in the 24 games played and was a plus-eight.
There was a lot of pressure on the newcomer, especially coming into the hockey hotbed of Toronto. He was being labelled as the next Wendel Clark, and as even a fan of him and the Leafs as a kid. Clarkson didn’t fill that role. In 118 games as a Maple Leaf, he had 26 points and a minus-25 rating to go along with his 185 penalty minutes.
Right off the bat, Clarkson got off to a terrible start in Toronto. In his first preseason with the team, he jumped over the boards to get involved in a fight, resulting in an automatic 10-game suspension. It was all downhill from there.
After just a season and a half with the Maple Leafs, he was brilliantly flipped by the new general manager at the time, Lou Lamoriello, to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for the injured Nathan Horton, who just sits on the team’s long-term injured reserve list.
The Clarkson era in Toronto brought a lot of hope to the city’s fans and the organization itself, but it all came crashing down rather quickly.
