David Clarkson (ice hockey)

David Clarkson
Born (1984-03-31) March 31, 1984
Etobicoke, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams
Columbus Blue Jackets
New Jersey Devils
Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2005present

David Clarkson (born March 31, 1984) is a Canadian ice hockey forward who currently plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Clarkson was a member of the 2003 Memorial Cup-winning Kitchener Rangers.

Playing career

Following his junior career, Clarkson went undrafted and was signed as a free agent by the New Jersey Devils in August 2005. He was assigned to the Albany River Rats of the AHL in September of that year. He would go on to play the majority of the 2006–2007 season with the Devils' new farm 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, at Carolina. He scored his first NHL goal one game later in a 7–2 loss to the same Carolina Hurricanes. He would go on to finish the season with New Jersey, including three playoff games, and start the next season in the NHL.

Clarkson played in the YoungStars Game during the 56th NHL All-Star Game SuperSkills Competition, scoring one goal and two assists. He was the lone Devils' representative at the festivities, as Martin Brodeur (who was voted in) was unable to participate.

Clarkson ranked seventh in the NHL in penalty minutes (183) during the 2007–08 season.

As the NHL lockout began, Clarkson signed with Austrian team EC Red Bull Salzburg to begin the 2012–13 season. Once the NHL lockup was settled, he returned to the Devils and did well offensively, scoring 15 points in 12 games before slumping and only recording another nine points in the remaining 36 games as New Jersey failed to the make the playoffs.

An unrestricted free agent, Clarkson did not re-sign with the Devils during the offseason, instead signing a seven-year, $36.75 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 5, 2013.[1] On September 22, 2013, a brawl erupted during a preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres during which Clarkson left the bench to fight. He subsequently received an automatic 10-game suspension from the NHL. Clarkson ended his first season in Toronto with five goals and 11 points in 60 games.

In the midst of his second season with the Maple Leafs in the 2014–15 season, and unable to establish a level of play to match his contract, Clarkson was traded by Toronto to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Nathan Horton on February 26, 2015.[2]

Personal life

Clarkson was born in Etobicoke, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto, growing up in the Mimico neighbourhood. He and his wife Brittney have two children, McKinley and Colton.

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

Transactions

References

  1. "Leafs sign David Clarkson". Toronto Maple Leafs. July 5, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
  2. "Leafs ship Clarkson to Columbus for Horton". TSN. February 26, 2015.

External links

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