Bobby Clarke's Revenge

Bobbly Clarke has been out of hockey for several months and yet his decisions continue to have repercussions. It was Clarke you may remember who helped to escalate salaries under the old CBA by signing Tampa Bay restricted free agent Chris Gratton to a high salary. Tampa Bay was in a tight spot and ended up matching the offer but then trading the player to Philly so that they would at least receive something in return. Bobby Clarke made a mistake as Gratton never achieved what Clarke expected and he dealt him away after less than two years on in Philadelphia.

Last summer Clarke repeated this pattern, only this time he stuck it to the Vancouver Canuks by signing restricted free agent Ryan Kesler to an offer sheet that pays more than the current market price for a player of Kesler's skill. The Canuks were put in the position of either overpaying Kesler or losing him for nothing to Philadelphia--and they matched the offer.

Well yesterday the forecaster had this update on Kesler's season: "The Canuks recieved a major blow on Friday when it was discovered that two-way center Ryan Kesler will undergo surgery to correct a hip problem next week. The procedure will likely keep the 22-year-old Kesler sidelined for the next 3-4 months."
(http://www.forecaster.ca/thestar/hockey/news.cgi?dailyslate&x_pagespec=20070127)

So here we are months later and the Vancouver Canuks are fighting for a playoff berth out west, but their young centermen is hurt AND he is overpaid eating up cap space until they are granted a long term injury credit.