TORONTO – He was the home run acquisition in the summer of 2009. Formerly a member of the rival Canadiens and a noted thorn in the side of Mats Sundin, Mike Komisarek signed in Toronto for five years and a hefty $22.5 million. It was four years later, almost to the day, that Komisarek had his contract bought out by the organization, the American defender unable to realize the nasty game which brought him to the Leafs, seemingly weighed down by the burden of his sizeable contract. When free agency opened this past summer it was David Clarkson getting the big deal in this city, inked to an even grander pact which extended over seven years and was worth upwards of $36 million. Wary of the effect large contracts – and their respective pressures – can have on athletes Randy Carlyle took to drawing a red line on the expectations for Clarkson prior to his exhibition debut with the club on Monday evening. "We dont want him to be anything more than David Clarkson," said Carlyle. "Theres a trap at times when players do change teams and contracts become something notable, the first thing they try to do is change the way they play. Thats one thing we want to guard against. We want David Clarkson to play the way hes capable of playing and [do] the things he normally does, not try to be anything more than what hes been before." "I dont read anything or look at anything," Clarkson said of the expected pressures. "All Im going to do is go out every night and give everything I have. Am I going to be perfect? No. Im going to make mistakes. But Im going to play that same kind of style of hockey that got me here." Clarkson delivered such a brand in his first game with the Leafs. He played with a physical edge, he chirped the opposing bench, he had his opportunities offensively and was generally an irritant. Thumped at one point in the second frame by Nicklas Grossman, the 6-foot-4, 230 pound behemoth on the Flyers defence, Clarkson went about roughhousing with his much larger opponent. "It was like trying to move a fridge," chimed Clarkson, listed at an even 200 pounds. "It was just more that I didnt like getting hit like that." Whether Clarkson can live up to a contract of serious proportions will remain an open question, but one the organization isnt contemplating. "Im not worried about [years] six and seven right now," Leafs general manager Dave Nonis said of Clarkson, hours after the signing was announced in early July. "Im worried about [the first] one and year one I know were going to have a very good player. "I believe that hes got a lot of good years left in him," Nonis continued. "Hes not 35 years old." Clarkson scored 30 with the Devils two years ago, adding 15 in 48 games last season. The Leafs arent hedging their bets strictly with offence though instead looking to their free agent add to provide decent measures of truculence, leadership and many of the intangibles which cant be measured. "If David Clarkson doesnt score 30 goals in a Leaf uniform, but provides all the other things that we know hes going to provide were pretty comfortable were a better team," Nonis noted. It was fitting then that Carlyle would nod in approval when questioned on Clarksons unlikely exhibition scrap with Grossman. "Hes done it all his career," he observed. "Thats why he is what he is." And all the Leafs want him to be. Five Points 1. Clarksons choice A teammate of Clarkson while the two were in New Jersey, Mark Fraser was far from surprised when he got word that the Toronto native had landed with the Leafs. "It was no secret that [Clarkson] was a big fan of the blue and white," Fraser grinned. "There couldve been 29 other teams in the running and I think I knew who he wanted to sign with more." 2. Bernier debut Jonathan Bernier made few, if any, changes to his pre-game routine ahead of his first start with the Leafs on Monday night. "Its pretty much the same," he said. "Actually the only thing that changed [is] we have meals here and then I go for a little nap. Pretty much the same routine as usual." Bernier said the most difficult adjustment to a new team, new city, new everything really, was actually on the ice, getting a read on the system his team employs. "Youve got to make sure that you know where your [defencemen] are going to be," he said, noting the need for understanding of such tactics on the penalty kill and opposition forecheck. "For me especially, handling the puck, thats a big adjustment." Bernier stopped 15 of 16 shots before he was replaced by Drew MacIntyre midway through the game. 3. Gardiner revival It was sophomore year at the University of Wisconsin, the last point that Jake Gardiner felt his confidence dip to where it plunged last season. But after some redemption in the playoffs and an offseason spent back in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Gardiner is feeling revived heading into his third pro season. The 23-year-old looks back to his experience in 2013, one that saw him bounce between the Marlies, Leafs and press box, as likely to be beneficial over the long run. "It was nice to have a down in my career just to know what its like," he said earlier this week, "try to never experience that again obviously and just keep moving forward." Following that disappointing second season with the Badgers in college, Gardiner returned as a junior and dominated, finishing second to teammate Justin Schultz in scoring among all WCHA defenders. 4. No Maintenance Troy Bodie has at least one fan in Randy Carlyle. "Hes a no maintenance guy," said Carlyle of the imposing 6-foot-4 winger, inked to a one-year deal this past summer. "Hes one of those guys that you think if there was a model for your younger players to model themselves after Troy Bodie would be one of those guys. Coaches love no-maintenance players." Carlyle coached Bodie for parts of three seasons in Anaheim, the now son-in-law of MLSE President Tim Leiweke spending the past two seasons in the American League. "Hes not a flashy guy," continued Carlyle of Bodie, who played for Dallas Eakins and the Marlies in 2009-10. "I would say hes an up-and-down winger thats going to take the body, good teammate." Opportunity may just be knocking for Bodie with fellow fourth line element Frazer McLaren scheduled to miss at least two weeks with a fractured pinky finger. Carlyles fondness for the brash ingredient is known and because of his familiarity with the player, Bodie could sneak his way onto the roster. "I know what he expects," Bodie said of the Leafs coach, "so its nice for me not to come into this camp blind. I understand what he expects and what kind of player he would want me to be if I was there playing for him." 5. A brief on T.J. Brennan The Leafs represent the fourth organization T.J. Brennan has been apart in a matter of months. Drafted and bred by the Sabres (a second round selection in 2007), Brennan was finally shuffled off to Florida this past March. He went on to play 19 games for the Panthers, posting a couple goals and nine points. A restricted free agent, he and the front office in Sunrise couldnt come to terms on a new contract and thus Brennan was on the move again, this time to Nashville for Bobby Butler in mid-June. The Predators opted not to qualify Brennan and aimed to sign him to a two-way deal. Brennan though, desiring some level of control, declined and became an unrestricted free agent. Sensing some opportunity and a good fit, he signed with the Leafs for one year on a one-way deal. "It seemed like a good partnership here," said Brennan, who played 22-plus minutes on Monday, paired with Gardiner against the Flyers. "It definitely seemed like somewhere I could grow and really settle in and take the things Ive learned from Buffalo, Florida and the minors and really establish myself." The Leafs like the edge and offence Brennan can potentially provide – he scored 14 goals with Rochester in 2013 – and see his addition as an opportunity to inject depth on the blueline. Quote of the Night "I wouldnt say it was a classic NHL game." -Randy Carlyle on his teams 4-3 loss in the shootout. Up Next The Leafs travel to Ottawa for a Thursday clash with the Senators. Paul George Shoes From China .Y. - DeMarre Carroll felt as though he couldnt miss in the second quarter as he outscored the Brooklyn Nets 14-13 all by himself. Wholesale Paul George Shoes .com) - Pittsburgh Steelers running back LeVeon Bell, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil and New England Patriots punter Ryan Allen were selected as the AFCs top players for Week 14 of the NFL season. https://www.cheappaulgeorgeshoes.com/. 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell. Paul George Shoes Free Shipping . On Friday night, after a long rain delay, he was scratched from his scheduled start. Paul George Shoes Outlet .ca. Hi Kerry, Welcome back! Im sure you heard Peter Forsbergs comments last week regarding Canadian referees in the gold medal game. Seems to me that he was questioning the integrity and impartiality.With the Penguins being one of the highest scoring teams in the league and the Jets a team that surrenders a lot of goals, perhaps the high scoring affair should have been expected. It had been 10 games since the Penguins had given up the first goal of the game at home and eight games since they had trailed 2-0 at home, but that was the case after one with a couple of Jets rookies doing the damage. Jacob Trouba, with his fourth of the year, opened the scoring 1:47 in with assists from Olli Jokinen and Adam Pardy. Pardy was back in after missing the last four games. Sidney Crosby, the NHLs leading scorer, was awarded a penalty shot and a chance to tie the game, but was stopped by Al Montoya. In the final seconds of the period, Mark Scheifele gave the Jets the 2-0 lead with his seventh goal of the season, all of which have come on the road. Assists on the goal went to Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian. Shots in the first period were 11-11. The Penguins got their offence going early in the second on a goal from Evgeni Malkin, his first game back after missing 10 due to injury. James Neal stole the puck from Dustin Byfuglien to start the play and the Pens were on the board at 1:06 of the second. Neal then went to work and scored two in 34 seconds and by the 4:59 mark of the period, the Penguins had the lead at 3-2. Blake Wheeler, with his team leading 16th, evened the game at 6:02. Bryan Little had the lone assist. All was quiet for the next five minutes other than Montoya and Marc-Andre Fleury being busy making saves. At 11:38, Jussi Jokinen put the Pens back in front, but before the high scoring period could end, Evander Kane scored two goals only 2:11 apart to regain the lead for the Jets. His second of the night, 14th of the year and seventh in the last 11 games came at 19:42. It was 5-4 after two with shots in the second favouring the Jets 13-11. The Penguins started the third with an offensive push, but the Jets weathered the storm for the time being. But another giveaway resulted in Malkins second of the night coming at 8:29. The winner then came at 12:38 off a face-off with a Matt Niskanen shot going off a Jets players stick and in. The Jets had some great chances, but could not beat Fleury. The best opportunity came from close in off the stick of Andrew&nbssp;Ladd, but Fleury made a great save to keep the Pens ahead.dddddddddddd. In the final seconds Scheifele had Fleury down, but his shot from close in went over the net. The final shots were 39-34 for the Penguins. The Jets got 11 shots from their defence with Mark Stuart leading the way with four. Jussi Jokinen led all players with eight shots on goal. Kane led the Jets with six. It was Kanes 15th two-goal game of his career. A pair of Jets rookies are on impressive scoring runs. Mark Scheifele has six goals and 11 assists in his last 21 games, while Jacob Trouba has two goals and three assists in his last six games. Blake Wheeler is now tied for second in team points with Byfuglien with 32. Byfuglien has three goals and seven assists in his last 12 games, but was a minus-three on the day. Leading all NHL defencemen in shots, Byfuglien was held to just a pair by the Pens The Jets were held scoreless in three power play opportunities and have not scored on the man advantage in six in a row after scoring nine power play goals in eight games. Eric ODell played his fifth game of the season, but was limited to just 4:25 of ice time. The win for the Penguins was their 12th straight at home, marking a new franchise record. Coach Claude Noel started his post-game news conference by saying that the Jets made“too many mistakes. You have to defend against this team.” The Jets simply give up too many goals and this is not on the goalies. There were far too many grade-A scoring chances against and it was the Jets 25th one-goal game of the season (The team is 10-10-5 in those games.) “We dont protect the lead, we play with it,” continued Noel. “Were one up going into the third, first five or six minutes we are solid, we want to play on our toes, dont sit back and manage every shift. You have to play the right way. There were a lot of break downs in our end. They gave us five, we gave them six. Our plan was not to win the game 7-6.” The Jets now return home, winless on their three-game road trip, to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday (available on TSN Jets and TSN 1290,) the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday afternoon and the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday. It will be an interesting start to the week for players, as the remainder of the Olympic teams will be announced. ' ' '