Clarke MacArthur

Clarke MacArthur (born April 6, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was a left winger in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, Atlanta Thrashers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was originally selected by Buffalo in the third round, 74th overall, at the 2003 NHL entry draft.

Prior to turning professional, MacArthur spent three seasons playing for the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Hockey League (WHL). While playing major junior hockey, he was named to the 2004 Memorial Cup All-Star and 2005 WHL Eastern Conference All-Star Teams. MacArthur was also a member of Canada's gold medal-winning squad at the 2005 World Junior Championships.

Playing career

Amateur MacArthur played minor hockey in his hometown of Lloydminster, Alberta. While playing bantam hockey in Alberta, MacArthur put up impressive statistics, despite standing only 5'4". After the season, he was named his club's most valuable player. During the season, he grew seven inches and Medicine Hat was again interested in obtaining his services. MacArthur was the fourth-leading scorer in the tournament with one goal and four assists and was named to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team. The Tigers, however, lost in the semifinal of the tournament to the Kelowna Rockets. He remained with Rochester in 2005–06, recording 53 points over 69 games in his first full professional season.

After starting the 2006–07 season in Rochester for a second year, He split time between the Americans and Sabres for the rest of the season, finishing with 63 points over 51 games in the AHL and seven points over 19 games in the NHL. He recorded his first NHL point, an assist, on February 20, 2007, against the Philadelphia Flyers and scored his first career goal against the Ottawa Senators on February 22.

During the 2007–08 season, MacArthur again spent time with the Americans and Sabres. At the NHL level, he scored eight goals and added seven assists in 37 games, while recording 42 points in 43 games with the Americans. After the season, MacArthur became a restricted free agent before re-signing to a one-year deal with the Sabres. MacArthur spent his first full season at the NHL level in 2008–09, playing in 71 games with the Sabres and recording 31 points. After the season, the Sabres tendered MacArthur a qualifying offer to retain his rights; he subsequently signed a two-year deal with the club in July 2009. MacArthur played in 60 games for the Sabres, scoring 13 goals and adding 13 assists before being traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for two draft picks at the NHL trade deadline. He finished the season with the Thrashers recording nine points in 21 games.

After the 2009–10 season, MacArthur filed for salary arbitration. After the hearing, he was awarded a one-year contract worth $2.4 million, a significant raise over his previous salary of $1.4 million. The Thrashers chose not to accept the arbitration award, however, and MacArthur subsequently became an unrestricted free agent.

MacArthur signed a one-year deal for $1.1 million with the Toronto Maple Leafs on August 28, 2010, ahead of the 2010–11 season. When asked later about his decision to sign in Toronto, MacArthur said, "It was nice to come back to a hockey community." He later added, "It's the most fun I've had since junior." Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf, one of MacArthur's teammates at the 2005 World Junior Championships, was influential in the decision to sign with Toronto. MacArthur scored goals in each of his first four games with the club, becoming the first player in team history to do so. The following month, he tied his personal career-best when he scored two goals against the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 13. On November 16 he tied a club record by recording three assists in a period against the Nashville Predators. At the end of his first season with the Maple Leafs, he signed a two-year contract extension at $3.25 million per annum on July 5, 2011, thereby avoiding salary arbitration with the club.

On July 5, 2013, after his contract had expired with the Maple Leafs, MacArthur signed a two-year, $6.5 million deal with Toronto's Ontario rivals, the Ottawa Senators. On August 19, 2014, the Senators announced they had signed MacArthur to a five-year contract extension worth a total of $23.25 million—carrying a $4.65 million annual average value—set to start in the 2015–16 season.

On February 16, 2015, MacArthur collided with goalie Robin Lehner, resulting in both players being diagnosed with concussions. On October 20, 2015, Senators general manager Brian Murray announced that MacArthur suffered another concussion during a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 14 and that MacArthur would not be playing in the near future. MacArthur played only the first four games of the 2015-16 season due to his concussion, although he passed a "baseline test" and was announced to be "medically cleared to play" in late March 2016.

During a training camp game on September 25, 2016, MacArthur suffered another concussion when newly-acquired Patrick Sieloff hit MacArthur into the boards. Bobby Ryan immediately began a fight with Sieloff, which was quickly broken up. Sieloff was sent to the Senators' AHL affiliate the Binghamton Senators shortly afterwards. On January 20, 2017, the Senators announced that MacArthur would not play any of the remaining games of the season on the recommendation of various doctors, despite MacArthur's insistence, that he did not have any symptoms of post-concussion syndrome. On April 4, 2017, MacArthur returned to the Senators' lineup after an 18-month absence and played in all of the Senators' four remaining regular season games. On April 23, 2017, MacArthur scored the series-winning goal (on the powerplay for a 3-2 win 6:30 into overtime of game six) against the Boston Bruins in their first round playoff matchup.

At the beginning of training camp for the 2017-2018 NHL season, it was announced that MacArthur had failed his physical and therefore could not attend camp. On November 14, 2017, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion stated it was "highly doubtful" MacArthur would ever play another NHL game. In 2018, it was reported by Spectrum News Rochester that MacArthur had retired, although MacArthur himself has never made an official statement.

International play

MacArthur made his international debut playing for Team West at the 2002 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, which was held in Manitoba. In Canada's first game of the tournament against Slovakia, MacArthur scored two goals. Canada eventually captured gold at the tournament after routing Russia 6–1 in the final.

Personal life MacArthur's parents are named Dean and Deborah, and he has one sister, Kristin. who was selected by the Minnesota North Stars the eighth round (148th overall) of the 1988 NHL entry draft.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2001–02 Drayton Valley Thunder AJHL 61 22 40 62 33 16 5 8 13 34 2002–03 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 70 23 52 75 104 11 3 6 9 8 2003–04 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 62 35 40 75 93 20 8 10 18 16 2004–05 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 57 30 44 74 100 13 3 8 11 18 2004–05 Rochester Americans AHL — — — — — 3 0 1 1 0 2005–06 Rochester Americans AHL 69 21 32 53 71 — — — — — 2006–07 Rochester Americans AHL 51 21 42 63 57 6 2 4 6 4 2006–07 Buffalo Sabres NHL 19 3 4 7 4 — — — — — 2007–08 Rochester Americans AHL 43 14 28 42 26 — — — — — 2007–08 Buffalo Sabres NHL 37 8 7 15 20 — — — — — 2008–09 Buffalo Sabres NHL 71 17 14 31 56 — — — — — 2009–10 Buffalo Sabres NHL 60 13 13 26 47 — — — — — 2009–10 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 21 3 6 9 2 — — — — — 2010–11 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 82 21 41 62 37 — — — — — 2011–12 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 73 20 23 43 37 — — — — — 2012–13 ETC Crimmitschau DEU.2 9 4 7 11 16 — — — — — 2012–13 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 40 8 12 20 26 5 2 1 3 2 2013–14 Ottawa Senators NHL 79 24 31 55 78 — — — — — 2014–15 Ottawa Senators NHL 62 16 20 36 36 6 2 0 2 18 2015–16 Ottawa Senators NHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2016–17 Ottawa Senators NHL 4 0 0 0 0 19 3 6 9 12 NHL totals 552 133 171 304 343 30 7 7 14 32 Junior and professional statistics source

Awards Year Award 2004 Memorial Cup All-Star Team 2005 WHL Eastern Conference First All-Star Team