Brett Clark Brett Clark ( born December 23 , 1976 ) is a professional ice hockey defenceman who currently plays with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Playing career . Clark was drafted in the 6th round , 154th overall , by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft . He was selected from the University of Maine of the Hockey East where he named to the All - Rookie Team in his freshman year . Under the preference of the Canadiens , Clark spent the following season developing with the Canadian National Team program , before he made his professional debut in the 1997 – 98 season . After only 20 games with AHL affiliate , the Fredericton Canadiens , he made his debut with the Canadiens and remained with the team scoring a goal , on his 21st birthday , in 41 games for the season . Not used as a depth defenseman in the playoffs Brett further established himself in the 1998 – 99 season appearing in 61 contests for the Canadiens . On June 25 , 1999 , Clark was claimed in the 1999 Expansion draft by the Atlanta Thrashers . His NHL career stalled with the Thrashers unable to find a role in his three seasons . He however found success in the Thrashers affiliate team , winning the Turner Cup in 2001 with the Orlando Solar Bears . During the 2001 – 02 season on January 24 , 2002 , Clark was traded by the Thrashers to the Colorado Avalanche for Frederic Cassivi . Brett spent the majority of the next three seasons with the Avalanche ' s affiliate , the Hershey Bears of the AHL . He was twice named the Bears best defenseman of the year , and led the AHL in plus / minus ( + 28 ) in 2000 – 01 . After the 2004 NHL Lockout , and at age 28 , Brett finally established a role as a two - way defenseman with the Avalanche in 2005 – 06 . He appeared in 80 games and scored a respectable 36 points . In his playoff debut , he scored against the Dallas Stars in game one of the Western Conference Quarterfinals on April 22 , and subsequently finished the playoffs tied with Rob Blake for the team scoring lead among defenseman with four points . On June 30 , 2006 , Clark re - signed to a two - year contract with Colorado . In the 2006 – 07 season , he had a career - high year appearing in 82 games and scoring 10 goals for 39 points and leading the NHL in average shifts per game . On February 24 , 2007 , Clark played in his 300th career NHL game against the Los Angeles Kings . On August 27 , 2007 , Brett signed a two - year contract extension with the Avalanche prior to the 2007 – 08 season . He again led the NHL in shifts per game before he was sidelined for the rest of the regular season and playoffs after suffering a dislocated shoulder on February 12 , 2008 . In 2008 – 09 Clark returned to set an Avalanche record of 238 hits , second in the NHL , but struggled offensively in recording 12 points in 76 games . In the 2009 – 10 season , on January 29 , Clark appeared in his 500th career NHL game against the Dallas Stars . After eight seasons within the Avalanche organization Clark left as a free agent to sign a two - year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 5 , 2010 . Personal life . Brett is married to Candace and has 2 kids ; son Cail , born in 2004 , and daughter Ava , who was born December 10 , 2007 .