Catching up with Wendel Clark

Before we get into today’s regularly scheduled programming, a note about the blockbuster trades that have whipped Leafs Nation into a frenzied state. The long-term outlook bodes very well for the Leafs, but only if Dion Phaneuf can get his career back on track. Jean-Sebastien Giguere was once a first-class net-minder, and even if he can’t rediscover his form, his bloated contract comes off the books in 2011, which will free up some cap space, presuming a star free agent agrees to play under the microscope here in Toronto.

The massive shakeup we all expected from Brian Burke has begun in earnest, and the ride might not be over just yet. The consensus is that Tomas Kaberle will be the next to be shipped out, perhaps at the March 3 trade deadline, or this summer at the latest. His price will be one of the two things we sorely need: a scoring forward or a first-round draft pick.

Matt Stajan, Jason Blake and Niklas Hagman weren’t exactly MVP candidates, but they provided offensive depth at the very least. Now that they’ve been sent packing, we’re looking at what might be the worst offense in Leafs history. And the rebuilding process rolls on….

Much has been made of the Leafs ruining their chance to land the first overall pick in the upcoming NHL draft. The last time they had it was 1985, when they selected legendary bruising forward Wendel Clark, who scored, brawled, and generally bled Leaf blue for over a decade.

Clark has since been venerated by the local sports media, and he remains the only happy memory from the dark days of the late '80s. He’s now a public-relations ambassador for the Leafs, a published author, and a budding restaurateur. With the Oakville location of Wendel Clark’s Classic Grill opening today, “Captain Crunch” took some time to chat about his Leafs career, and the ongoing difficulties faced by the team we hate to love.

You’ve just released an autobiography, Wendel: My Life in Hockey. Was this your chance to finally get some things off your chest?
Well, it’s not about taking sides, it’s more of a chronological book from my childhood to now. A picture and storybook about my life. And I think the story applies to a lot of guys who came to the NHL from a small town.

Is it a difficult transition for pro hockey players once they leave the NHL?
Everybody retires differently, but it’s hard to go from playing hockey as a kid, to playing professionally, to not playing at all. You have to understand you’ll probably never find anything as fun as playing hockey. It’s very hard to compete with that, and finding something as fun as hockey is very hard to do.

Sometimes it’s easier for players that were injured, when your body is telling you that you can’t do it anymore. But it’s harder to retire when you’re totally healthy and you feel good. When someone tells you you’re not good enough to play anymore, the first thing you do as a professional athlete is try to prove them wrong. And the hardest thing to do is prove somebody wrong when you’re old.

You were a defenceman before you made the NHL. Was it the Leafs’ idea to meddle with the game of their first overall pick?
I played defence my whole life, until I was drafted by the Maple Leafs. I got to training camp, and there I was, on left wing with Russ Courtnall and Gary Leeman. It’s probably not something that would happen to a prospect today, but I was a very offensive, physical player, and they probably felt I had the capabilities to play forward as well.

Like many Torontonians, you suffered through the Harold Ballard era, except you witnessed it first-hand. Would you say the Leafs are as bad now as they were then?
Through the '80s, we had tough times, but we were still in the playoffs every two years. This has been a five- or six-year stint, but in the old Norris Division, we could make the playoffs with 60 points, and today these guys can’t. Toronto is a tough place to play when you’re dealing with [losing] on a daily basis. Nobody’s happy about it, but you feel for the guys, and you know what they’re going through. I’m not part of cutting them up. I want them to do well, because it’s a lot more fun in this city when we’re winning. There’s no fast-tracking in today’s game, because of the salary cap. It’s not easy to change directions. Teams aren’t making drastic changes because everyone’s under the same salary cap.

You were the face of the franchise in the '80s. Do you imagine Phil Kessel is under the same pressure you were feeling back then?
It’s a tough year for him, coming off an injury. He’s still getting in shape, getting used to a new city and a new team, so he’s been a little bit behind the eight ball. He’s getting over an injury where the pain goes away, and you’re totally healthy to play, but getting your timing back sometimes happens the next year. The longer he’s here, his role will become more and more defined.

You played during an era of big changes for the NHL, as the league expanded into the Sun Belt. Do you think it’s time they abandoned that experiment?
They’re trying to expand the game across North America, and sometimes you have to live through growing pains to accomplish that. If we’d moved a team to Los Angeles and pulled the team out six months later, we wouldn’t have three teams in California right now. I always say it takes three generations for an area to love the game. The grandfather’s got to take the grandson, and both of them have to know what the game is all about. You have to withstand some down times in order to grow the game.


HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK
I tried to resist the American Idol “Pants On the Ground” phenomenon for as long as I could, chalking the whole thing up to a William Hung-style error in cultural judgment. But after taking in a few clever remixes and applying my innate knowledge of pop music, I will concede that General Larry Platt has a massive hit on his hands.



Brett Favre agrees. The legendary gunslinger put his own spin on the popular tune as a way to bond with his young, hip teammates, but gave up once he realized that he didn’t know any of the words. Either way, Brett makes up for it with an impressive cheek-rattling butt-slap to the rear of Jared Allen. That kind of impact gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "defensive end."

COMING NEXT WEEK: A running diary from my eighth-annual Super Bowl party, in which I will make many disparaging remarks about that smug jerk Peyton Manning. Go Saints!


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