Is Clarkson stepping up? (VIDEO)

Last season was certainly a season to forget for David Clarkson. Clarkson missed the first 10 games because of a suspension he received for leaving the bench in a pre-season brawl in Buffalo and never really found his footing after that. He finished the season with 5 goals and 11 points while collecting a whopping 5.25 million for his measly effort. Clarkson was once a 30-goal scorer and is being paid more than James van Riemsdyk. The remaining six years that he has on a contract that cannot be traded or bought out and his performance has left much to be desired. Despite this, Clarkson is off to a solid start this season. He has recorded a goal and an assist through the first six games, and is drawing shut down assignments on opposing teams top lines. “I feel healthy. I feel back to myself,” said Clarkson, “I feel like everything is going back to how I played in New Jersey. I’m starting to get back to how I was.” Clarkson is probably never going to justify earning US$5.25-million per season, but the Leafs seem to have found a way to get some value from Clarkson this season.