David Clarkson

David Clarkson (born March 31, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League for the New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Columbus Blue Jackets. He is currently part owner and director of player development for the Colorado Grit in the NAHL south division. Clarkson was a member of the 2003 Memorial Cup-winning Kitchener Rangers.

Playing career Junior hockey As a youth, Clarkson played in the 1998 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Toronto Marlboros minor ice hockey team. Clarkson attended Norsemen Junior Middle School and Etobicoke Collegiate, then joined the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for his major junior career. He was traded to the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL on October 6, 2002 for future considerations. during which he won the Memorial Cup in 2003. He was assigned to the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League (AHL) in September for the 2005–06 AHL season. He would go on to play the majority of the 2006–07 AHL season with the Devils' new minor league team, the Lowell Devils (also of the AHL), before receiving a late-season call-up to New Jersey.

Clarkson made his NHL debut on March 15, 2007, on the road against the Carolina Hurricanes. He played in 81 games in the 2007–08 season with the Devils, registering 9 goals and 22 points. Clarkson was top on his team in penalty minutes (183) during the season. Clarkson played in the YoungStars Game during the 56th NHL All-Star Game SuperSkills Competition, scoring one goal and two assists. On July 1, as a restricted free agent, Clarkson was re-signed by the Devils for two years at $800,000 per year.

Clarkson broke out in the 2011–12 season under head coach Peter DeBoer who had coached him in Kitchener. He scored a career-high 30 goals and 48 points and the Devils went on to the Stanley Cup Final. As the 2012–13 NHL lockout began, Clarkson signed with Austrian team EC Red Bull Salzburg to begin the 2012–13 season. Once the NHL lock-out was settled, he returned to the Devils and did well offensively, scoring 15 goals though New Jersey failed to the make the playoffs.

An unrestricted free agent, Clarkson did not re-sign with the Devils during the off-season, instead signing a seven-year, $36.75 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 5, 2013. On September 22, 2013, a brawl erupted during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres during which Clarkson left the bench to fight. He subsequently received an automatic ten-game suspension from the NHL. There were high expectations in Toronto that Clarkson would score 20 to 30 goals based on his contract. Clarkson made his debut with the Maple Leafs on October 26, 2013 in a 5–2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He scored his first goal with Toronto against the New York Islanders's goalie Kevin Poulin on November 20. Clarkson was suspended for a second time that season, sitting out two games after hitting Vladimir Sobotka of the St. Louis Blues in the head. He ended his first season in Toronto with 5 goals and 11 points in 60 games. During the 2014–15 pre-season, Clarkson fought Cody McCormick and suffered a facial injury that required visiting a specialist. In the midst of his second season with the Maple Leafs, unable to establish a level of play to match his contract and plagued by injuries, Clarkson was traded by Toronto to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Nathan Horton on February 26, 2015. In total, Clarkson played 118 games with the Leafs over two years, scoring 15 goals and 26 points.

Healthy scratches and injuries would hold Clarkson to only 26 games with the Blue Jackets over the next year and a half, registering only 4 points. As training camp for the 2016–17 season approached, it was announced that Clarkson had failed a physical and would not be invited to practice with the Blue Jackets. He was placed on the long-term injured reserve due to serious back injuries. Clarkson never played again in the NHL due to an injury suffered in March 2016 with the Blue Jackets. On June 21, 2017, Clarkson's contract, along with first-round and second-round draft picks were obtained by the Vegas Golden Knights at the 2017 NHL expansion draft in a pre-arranged trade with the Blue Jackets in order for the Golden Knights to select William Karlsson. The Blue Jackets needed space under the salary cap and needed to protect other prospects in the expansion draft. On July 23, 2019, Clarkson, along with a 2020 fourth-round pick, was traded back to the Maple Leafs in exchange for goaltender Garret Sparks. He was placed on injured reserve to clear up cap space for the Leafs.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2000–01 Port Hope Clippers OPJHL 47 18 14 32 118 — — — — — 2001–02 Belleville Bulls OHL 22 2 7 9 34 8 1 1 2 6 2001–02 Aurora Tigers OPJHL 37 26 21 47 141 — — — — — 2002–03 Belleville Bulls OHL 3 0 0 0 11 — — — — — 2002–03 Kitchener Rangers OHL 54 17 11 28 122 21 4 3 7 23 2003–04 Kitchener Rangers OHL 55 22 17 39 173 — — — — — 2004–05 Kitchener Rangers OHL 31 33 21 54 145 15 6 2 8 40 2005–06 Albany River Rats AHL 56 13 21 34 233 — — — — — 2006–07 Lowell Devils AHL 67 20 18 38 150 — — — — — 2006–07 New Jersey Devils NHL 7 3 1 4 6 3 0 0 0 2 2007–08 New Jersey Devils NHL 81 9 13 22 183 5 0 0 0 4 2008–09 New Jersey Devils NHL 82 17 15 32 164 7 2 0 2 19 2009–10 New Jersey Devils NHL 46 11 13 24 85 5 0 0 0 2 2010–11 New Jersey Devils NHL 82 12 6 18 116 — — — — — 2011–12 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 30 16 46 138 24 3 9 12 32 2012–13 EC Red Bull Salzburg EBEL 5 2 1 3 18 — — — — — 2012–13 New Jersey Devils NHL 48 15 9 24 78 — — — — — 2013–14 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 60 5 6 11 93 — — — — — 2014–15 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 58 10 5 15 92 — — — — — 2014–15 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 3 0 0 0 14 — — — — — 2015–16 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 23 2 2 4 23 — — — — — NHL totals 570 114 86 200 992 44 5 9 14 59

Awards and honours Award Year CHL Memorial Cup (Kitchener Rangers) 2003 NHL NHL YoungStars Game 2008