The Leafs have placed both David Clarkson and Frazer McLaren on injured reserve.

No water bottle is safe.

Seriously though, what a nightmare of a season it has been for David Clarkson. I wouldn’t feel bad for him if he was dogging it, but he goes out every night, usually in a poorly-casted role, and gives it his all.

The 10-game suspension he got at the beginning of the season is an extremely frustrating one. Yes, he should have been suspended. You can’t set a precedent where players can leave the bench. Period. That being said, Clarkson’s Leafs career would have started on time, and Phil Kessel’s record would also remain unblemished, if that score-two-goals-every-half-decade sniper John Scott doesn’t try to mug one of the NHL’s best offensive players for no reason. "The Code." Barf.

Then there’s Clarkson’s hit on Ian Cole, which he was also suspended for. Not much to say about that. That’s a no-no.

Then there’s this injury, which seems like it has been around for at least a few weeks now, as Clarkson also is coming off a bout with the flu. 

And to think, it was just as Randy Carlyle decided to put Peter Holland on Clarkson’s line instead of Jay McClement, making that line a realistic scoring threat. Brutal.

His contract is a nightmare, but I still believe Clarkson can be a useful and consistent offensive player on the Leafs. He’s just not being used properly.

I’m guessing the Olympic break can’t come soon enough for number seventy-one.