Chris Clark
Last year: Lost
Career average (per-82 games): 16-15-31, -5
Fearless’ Take: It’s almost like getting a free agent who is free. In the 61-game rush last year, when the Caps went 37-17-7 to close the season, Clark played a total of four (and only one after November), and had less than 11 minutes of ice time in the last two. What did the Caps, and coach Bruce Boudreau, miss? A guy who had an 82-game average of 27-23-50, even, and 104 hits in two full years with the club. And Clark has shown himself to be a consummate opportunistic player, as well. Much can be made about the fact that he’s achieved these two-year numbers playing on the right side of the top line with Alex Ovechkin (that would be taking advantage of an opportunity), but along with that, more than a third of the goals Clark scored were on special teams – ten on the power play and seven shorthanded goals. Think Coach Boudreau can find a role for that sort of player?
Cheerless’ Take: He won’t be playing on Ovechkin’s line this year, at least not to start the year. If there is one line that seems pretty well cemented, it is the Ovechkin-Backstrom-Kozlov line. He might end up having to play the role of rooting out pucks from the corners and the boards for linemates such as Michael Nylander or Tomas Fleischmann, neither of whom are suited to that role. Neither are the finisher Ovechkin is, either (Feerless…”tell me, cuz, who is?”). That might be an intriguing line in some respects, but will it be productive? And, Clark is coming off a season where he lost 57 of the last 61 games, largely to a severe groin injury. How is he going to fare, skating 41 games in the gravel pit on 7th Street?
The Peerless’ Take: You ever see those pics from long ago? The dirt-smeared face of the grunt in the trenches in war? Hockey isn’t war, but Clark is that guy in the trenches who does whatever needs to be done to help his team. He could play on any line and contribute. He plays both ends of the ice, he checks, he hits, he’ll stand up for a teammate when they’ve had their liberties abused, and he’s shown a knack for scoring the opportunistic goal. There are some people you look at in life and without knowing much about them, you still think, “leader.” Clark has that sort of presence, and it is why he is such a good fit as captain of this team. He isn’t likely to duplicate his goal-scoring total of two years ago (30), but he could have opportunities around the net playing with Nylander and Fleischmann, both of whom can play a puck possession game. Lost in last year’s injury-riddled mess is the fact that Clark was 5-4-9, even, in 18 games. That works out to a respectable 23-18-41 over 82-games, and he earned most of that total before Bruce Boudreau arrived on the scene. But whatever his output on the score sheet, he can – and will – contribute in a lot of other ways.
Projected: 14-14-28, +4
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