TORONTO — Clarke MacArthur is hellbent on making sure his least favourite time of year passes more comfortably this time around.
The rumours and speculation leading up to the past two NHL trade deadlines grew so persistent that the Toronto Maple Leafs winger sought refuge in a movie theatre when the witching hour came and went.
Naturally, while there, his focus was more on the small screen — his cellphone — than the big one he’d paid to watch.
Even though his name has yet to be attached to any specific rumours this season, MacArthur figures it is only a matter of time. A pending unrestricted free agent, he’s a natural target for trade talk leading up to 3 p.m. ET deadline on April 3. But having seen this movie before (pardon the pun), the 27-year-old has made a vow not to let it get to him.
“It’s just out of my control,” MacArthur told sportsnet.ca after Tuesday’s practice at Air Canada Centre. “I want to just enjoy myself here. It’s been great playing here. I want to stay here obviously and make the playoffs and see how exciting that would be here.
“If the (deadline) comes and goes and I’m still here, then great; if it doesn’t, it would be a tough day.”
MacArthur’s experience isn’t unlike that of many players around the league. The hype and hoopla surrounding deadline day is rarely shared by the men who have to pick up their life and relocate on a moment’s notice.
It was three years ago at the deadline that MacArthur experienced his first (and only) NHL trade — getting sent from Buffalo to Atlanta for what ended up being a short stint with the Thrashers.
He made his way to Toronto the following season and was in the midst of a career year when the deadline arrived again. With free agency also looming back then, many felt he would almost certainly be traded. The intense focus on that issue for the better part of a month was clearly detrimental to MacArthur’s on-ice performance.
Above all, that is something he is determined not to let happen again during the 13 games still remaining before this season’s trade frenzy.
“I’m in Toronto — you’re getting traded every other day here,” said MacArthur. “That goes for guys all over the room; I hear stuff about guys every day. Everyone’s got to battle the same thing and it’s just talk.
“Until it really happens, you’re part of the Leafs and you want to stay here.”
To date, there has been no talk of contract extensions with the representatives for MacArthur or centre Tyler Bozak, the team’s other notable pending UFA. Leafs GM Dave Nonis isn’t against negotiating new deals during the season, so both of those players can count on having his name mentioned in rumours if extensions don’t materialize.
While Bozak has spent the season centring Toronto’s top line, MacArthur has overcome a slow start and found success alongside Nazem Kadri and the returning Matt Frattin, who is expected back from a knee injury for Wednesday’s game against Ottawa.
Coach Randy Carlyle recently said he would be a “fool” to break up the Kadri-MacArthur tandem, especially after seeing those two start making consistent offensive contributions.
A hot run has pushed Kadri to the top of the team’s scoring list while MacArthur has at least a point in seven of the last eight games — a far cry from how he began the season.
“I was getting chances and they weren’t going in,” MacArthur said of his play earlier this year. “That’s how it goes. That’s how this game goes for everybody. I’m trying to be more consistent, but the only way you be consistent is for them to go in every game — so it’s kind of an oddball thing.
“I was frustrated a little early and now I feel a lot more relaxed.”
The results have been there for all to see.
Rather than focus on the number of shots the team registers, the Leafs like to measure success by how many scoring chances they generate. During one recent three-game stretch, MacArthur was in on 26 of those — a “huge number,” according to Carlyle.
“That’s a lot of positives going on for him out there,” said the coach.
MacArthur is taking the praise in stride.
“We’re doing the extra things to get the pucks out and playing a simple game,” he said. “We just don’t want to forget how to do this.”
Another thing he won’t forget is the amount of needless worrying he did when the trade talk picked up.
Older, wiser and more experienced, MacArthur is going to handle things differently now.
“You’re going to hear it no matter what,” he said. “It’s just a matter of letting it sink in or not. I’m not going to let that happen.”