David Clarkson (ice hockey)

**David Clarkson** (born March 31, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey right winger. He played parts of 10 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Columbus Blue Jackets. Clarkson along with Bob Bowden are part of the Colorado Sports Partners, LLC. and own the Colorado Grit of the North American Hockey League (NAHL).

## Career
Before playing in the NHL, Clarkson played parts of two seasons with the Belleville Bulls and three seasons with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He had a successful time with the Rangers. He helped the Rangers during the playoffs, defeating the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Guelph Storm, and Plymouth Whalers. They went on to eventually defeat the Ottawa 67's four games to one in the finals to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup. They advanced to the 2003 Memorial Cup tournament and defeated the Hull Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) to win the Memorial Cup.

He was not drafted by an NHL team. On August 12, 2005, Clarkson signed a contract to join the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was immediately sent down to play for their AHL-affiliates Albany River Rats and Lowell Devils. On March 14, 2007, the Devils called Clarkson up to play for the team and he made his NHL debut the next day in a 3–2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes. On March 17, Clarkson scored his first NHL goal against John Grahame. During the game, he also recorded his first NHL point, assisting on a Travis Zajac goal in a 7–2 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes. Clarkson was chosen to take part in the YoungStars Game at the All-Star Game. On July 1, Clarkson signed a two year, $800,000 contract to stay with the Devils. He missed a lot of the 2009–10 season because of suffering a broken leg. On June 30, 2010, Clarkson signed a three-year to stay with the Devils. Clarkson set career-high in goals with 30 goals and points with 48. He helped the Devils during the playoffs, defeating the Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, and New York Rangers. The Devils eventually lost to the Los Angeles Kings four games to two in the Finals.

On July 5, 2013, Clarkson signed a seven-year, $36.75 million contract to join the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was given a ten game suspension by the NHL because he left the bench to participate in a on-ice brawl during game against the Buffalo Sabres on September 22.

On February 26, 2015, the Leafs traded Clarkson to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Nathan Horton. Over two seasons with the Blue Jackets, Clarkson was only able to play 26 games and missed a lot of time because of injuries.

On June 21, 2017, the Blue Jackets pre-arranged a trade during the 2017 NHL expansion draft to send Clarkson, a 2019 second-round pick and 2017 first-round pick to the Vegas Golden Knights so they were able to get William Karlsson. He never played a game with the Golden Knights.

On July 23, 2019, the Golden Knights traded Clarkson along with a 2020 fourth-round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Garret Sparks.

Clarkson, having not played since 2016, retired from playing professional ice hockey.

## References
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