Clarke MacArthur : RFA Report

by David Oleksy on May 6, 2009 2:00 PM EDT

Over the next couple of weeks we will have a new feature on Die by the Blade. WE will take a look at the players that will be free agents as of July 1. The restricted free agents will be first and the unrestricted will follow.

Patrick Kaleta (RFA) - Read Post
Clarke MacArthur (RFA)
Andrej Sekera (RFA)
Drew Stafford (RFA)
Max Afinogenov (UFA)
Dominic Moore (UFA)
Andrew Peters (UFA)
Jaro Spacek (UFA)
Mikael Tellqvist (UFA) - signed with Ak-Bars in KHL.

Clarke MacArthur

#41 / Left Wing / Buffalo Sabres

Height: 5-11

Weight: 191

Born: Apr 06, 1985

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Clarke MacArthur	71	17	14	31	-4	56	5	0	0	2	108	15.7

MacArthur quietly had a really nice season with the Sabres. When the season began nobody was sure that the C-Mac would even be in the lineup. A couple of injuries popped up and he took advantage of his chance. C-Mac was sixth on the Sabres with 17 goals this season. Only Thomas Vanek (40), Derek Roy (28), Jason Pominville (20), Drew Stafford (20) and Tim Connolly (18) had more goals than MacArthur this season.

Stregnths

MacArthur has finally become and offensive player in the NHL. Since he joined the Sabres everyone could see his amazing potential and this season he finally started to play more like that player.

MacArthur is at his best in the offensive zone and specifically near the net. If he continues to improve the way he has in the past couple of seasons, C-Mac could become an everyday top six forward and become a 30 goal scorer.

Weaknesses

As is the case with many young hockey players, MacArthur struggles with consistency. At times he seems unstoppable and he brings a high level of intensity but at other times he is nearly invisible. Some young players have no problem with consistency but others seem to struggle with it and MacArthur is one of those players.

MacArthur seems to be at his best when he plays a little bit more physical but he will need to get bigger and stronger to play that way every night. He also needs to become more involved in the defensive end of the game, especially with Lindy Ruff as the coach.

Bottom Line

MacArthur is too talented for the Sabres to let him walk away via free agency. There is some potential for im to get an offer sheet after July 1 so the Sabres would be smart to lock him up before that.

His 17 goals were sixth on the team despite him spending penty of time in the Lindy Ruff dog house. If C-Mac plays an entire season he has the potential to be a top six forward.

Verdict

The Sabres will make a strong effort to sign him. I believe he will be a member of the Buffalo Sabres next season.

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Comments

Dog-house

I agree with your assessment of Mac here. His defensive zone play landed him in the dog house, and it really hindered his play. Not surprising since he didn’t see the ice much during that time and also played with little offensive talent on his line. At times he was the hottest Sabre and sparked a hot line when that happened. Breaking up Stafford and Mac mid-season was a miserable decision by Ruff that made both players play suffer. I think Lindy needs to realize that you can’t always bench a young player for missing defensive assignments. It hurts their overall development.

by willgarr15 on May 6, 2009 2:38 PM EDT reply actions

Well Said

I think the MacArthur would do well playing on the wing with Connolly all season as well. They could try both Pominville or Stafford on the other side. My top two lines would look like this next season…

Vanek-Roy-Stafford
MacArthur-Connolly- Pominville

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by David Oleksy on May 6, 2009 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm afraid

The Vanek-Roy-Stafford combination has met its limits. I don’t know why but they just didn’t seem to get it done together this year. Maybe it was because of Roy’s drop-off, or Vanek’s injury or Stafford’s inability to play physical in the corners but it just didn’t work for me.

by willgarr15 on May 6, 2009 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions