Mike Komisarek knows all too well what it’s like to fall short of expectations as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The retired NHL defenceman says playing for the Maple Leafs is like a “vicious cycle” and that he identifies with the likes of Phil Kessel, and David Clarkson in particular, and the scrutiny each player is currently under.
“Everyone’s searching for answers. Everyone’s trying to dig themselves out of that hole and it seems like a vicious cycle,” Komisarek told Brady and Walker Friday on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “The pattern repeats itself every year and you feel bad for those guys.”
LISTEN: Mike Komisarek on Leafs’ current struggles, Kessel and Clarkson
The seventh-overall pick from the 2001 NHL Draft signed a 5-year, $22.5-million contract with the Maple Leafs in the summer of 2009 – the same summer the team acquired Kessel from the Boston Bruins – but after three-plus disappointing seasons he was bought out in 2013.
Komisarek, with his $4.5-million cap hit, was often lambasted during his time in Toronto. The current crop of Maple Leafs have lost 21 of 25 games and the players are taking the heat for it – no on more than Kessel.
“Phil cares. He’s extremely talented and everyone sees what he’s capable of doing, but everything you do, all the decisions you make, everything’s going to be overanalyzed and critiqued and picked apart and it’s going to be done on a nightly basis,” said Komisarek, who spent his first six NHL seasons with the Canadiens. “The good thing about Montreal is the same thing’s going on but the majority of it is in French, so you don’t really know understand what’s going on.”
The 33-year-old, who is currently an assistant coach with the Michigan Wolverines, has a particular soft spot for Clarkson, who has seen his ice-time diminish and was recently a healthy scratch.
“I came in, I was playing in Montreal, had success there, I did many good things. Same thing with Clarkson [with the New Jersey Devils] and then you come in and you’re the same player, but you have a bigger contract now and with that comes obviously the huge expectations and it’s tough to live up to especially when you get behind the eight ball and success doesn’t come early,” Komisarek said. “When you sign, all you’re thinking about is the positive possibilities. You never expect things to fall apart.”
Despite his forgettable tenure with the Maple Leafs, the West Islip, N.Y., native wishes no ill will on his former club.
“There’s a lot of good guys in that locker room. People come to me and ask, ‘Are you kind of happy [seeing the Leafs struggle]? Do you have the last laugh? It must feel good to see them stumble around and do so poorly.’ And I say ‘are you insane?’ I’ve been in the exact same position as [the one] those guys are going through right now.
“It’s all between your ears. It’s a tough mode to get out of.”
