Leafs Trade David Clarkson, Can Colin Greening Be Dealt?

“Hey, if Wayne Gretzky can be traded, anyone can” now becomes “Hey, if David Clarkson can be traded, anyone can”so, does the trade mean anything for Ottawa as they look to off-load a deal of their own?

The David Clarkson trade is certainly an interesting one. It shows the power the Toronto Maple Leafs possess around the NHL. They truly have the largest fan base, highest revenues and with an ownership group like MLSE, they are able to pay for their mistakes.

In a CBA where the cap controls so much of how teams run, we see an interesting deal where Toronto’s money allows them to pay for their mistakes rather than take a penalty against the salary cap.

I honestly think Varada (@ThisThreeTime) nails it in his analysis regarding frustration from opposing fanbases.

The above note is as accurate as you can get, and as a fan of a small market team with a budget, it’s disappointing that despite implements of new CBA’s and strict salary caps, that we don’t necessarily play on an equal playing field.

And kudos to the Leafs, they’ve found a loophole where they can essentially buy-out David Clarkson’s contract without any cap punishment. The only thing I didn’t understand is why Columbus didn’t demand some compensation in taking money under the cap, unlike Toronto. Take a 2nd round pick and a prospect or some young talent with Clarkson, just as a bonus.

So, what does it mean for the Ottawa Senators as they still carry a poor contract in Colin Greening?

GREENING TRADE TALK:

The two types of deals really are as far apart as you can get. Clarkson’s deal is one where Columbus and Toronto switch un-trade-able contracts, proving to be trade-able in this sense.

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Ottawa holds a contract that is only good for 2 years after this season, so they aren’t in a situation as dire as Toronto. However, in a cap-tightened environment of Ottawa, it’d be nice to get Greening’s deal off the books.

While the interest might be dwindling around the league, if Ottawa is willing to work something reasonable out with a team, trading Greening might not be as hard as it seems.

He’s a big body, which can be attractive to some just based solely on size. We’ve also seen he can score in the past, and you’d have to believe a team would take Greening on at a more reasonable AAV.

SALARY RETENTION VS BUYOUT:

Are the Senators willing to do it?

They’ve taken on Salary retained contracts in the past (Ales Hemsky), but Bryan Murray has never retained salary in a transaction. In fact, the most prominent salary eating decisions Murray has made have been the buyouts or Bobby Butler, Jonathan Cheechoo, and Ray Emery.. not exactly hard, money conscious decisions to make.

Despite the worry being there, if Bryan Murray acknowledges that it is best to pay this player to NOT play for the Ottawa Senators and sees him as a sure thing buyout come the off-season, salary retention makes sense.

Looking at Greening’s potential buy-out come the off-season, we see the Senators would be paying up just under a million bucks over the next 4 seasons against the salary cap.

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So, they can decide to buy him out and pay the standard penalties or look to deal him in a salary retained transaction. Is Colin Greening an effective player at $1.5 million? probably, and we might see someone take on Greening at around that number.

Taking back about $1 million in salary would allow Murray to lose the contract, and only see an impact for 2 more seasons, unlike the 4-year buyout cost.

If that move can be made, you have to think Bryan Murray makes it. It likely means they pay a little more up front, but could save money in the long-run as a 4-year buyout could come costly.

Overall, the Senators have been good with their money. This may come frustrating to some, as Ottawa’s less-favourable contracts now include Chris Phillips, Milan Michalek, David Legwand, and of course.. Colin Greening.

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