Senators GM Murray confirms team talked about trade for Clarkson

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The Ottawa Senators were indeed discussing David Clarkson with the Toronto Maple Leafs before the forward was shipped to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

In an interview with Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, Senators general manager Bryan Murray confirmed an earlier report that he spoke to Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis about Clarkson.

"What happened was (Nonis) called me and asked if we'd be interested in talking about (Clarkson)," Murray told the Sun. "I think (Clarkson) will be better elsewhere and there's no question that what happened in Toronto was not a good thing for him or the team."

Murray made it known that he liked Clarkson and was interesting in acquiring the forward before he signed with Toronto, but he didn't like the structure of the contract and was also concerned about the amount of money coming back their way in a potential deal.

"I just called back (two days later) and said it doesn't work," Murray said. "When he played in New Jersey, I always thought he was a competitive guy. I didn't think he was worth quite the contract that he got (from Toronto).

Clarkson was traded to the Blue Jackets for Nathan Horton on Thursday.