Chris Clark (ice hockey)

Chris Clark (born March 8, 1976) is an American former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets.

Chris Clark
Clark with the Washington Capitals in 2007
Born (1976-03-08) March 8, 1976
South Windsor, Connecticut, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for Calgary Flames
Washington Capitals
Columbus Blue Jackets
SC Bern
Storhamar Dragons
National team  United States
NHL Draft 77th overall, 1994
Calgary Flames
Playing career 1998–2011

In 2019, he was named the general manager of the American Hockey League's Cleveland Monsters.

Playing career

College

Clark played four years for the Clarkson Golden Knights in the ECAC (NCAA Division I), recording 128 points (63 goals and 65 assists) and 392 penalty minutes in 142 games. He was named to the ECAC Second All-Star team in 1998.[1]

Professional

Clark was drafted in the third round, 77th overall, by the Calgary Flames in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He played five seasons with the Flames. In his final season with the team, he played in every game and helped the team to the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, which they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Clark was traded to the Washington Capitals as a restricted free agent on August 4, 2005, in exchange for a conditional pick in the 2006 Entry Draft. He scored 20 goals and 19 assists (39 points) with the Capitals in his first season, playing alongside rookie Alexander Ovechkin. The Capitals named Clark their new team captain on September 13, 2006.[2] Clark then set career-high numbers in goals (30), assists (24) and points (54) during the 2006–07 season, continuing to play alongside Ovechkin.

Clark was injured in the third period of a 2–1 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers on November 28, 2007, and missed the next 18 games with a strained groin muscle. He returned to the lineup on February 13, 2008, but played only one shift against the Philadelphia Flyers. Clark kicked out his skate in an attempt to stop a pass when he aggravated the groin injury. Clark missed the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.

After suffering a wrist injury in February 2009, Clark required surgery which ended his 2008–09 season.[3] He skated with the team during the pre-game skate before Game 5 of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoff game against the New York Rangers, but did not return until Game 7, taking the place of Donald Brashear, who was suspended for six games after his late hit on New York's Blair Betts.

On December 28, 2009, Clark (along with defenseman Milan Jurčina) was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for winger Jason Chimera.[4] Clark was the third-longest tenured captain in the history of the Washington Capitals, behind only Hockey Hall of Famer Rod Langway and Dale Hunter.[5]

During the 2011 off-season, Clark accepted a try-out invitation from the Boston Bruins.[6] Despite having an impressive pre-season, he was released from the Bruins training camp on October 5, 2011, without a contract.[7] On November 3, 2011, Clark signed a professional tryout agreement with the Providence Bruins, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Boston Bruins.[8] He was released by Providence on November 21, 2011, after six games, failing to record a point during his tryout period.[9]

Retirement

After he was released by Providence, Clark took up a scouting position with the Columbus Blue Jackets organization for the remainder of the 2011–12 season before being named the team's development coach.[10] In 2019, the Blue Jackets named him the general manager of their American Hockey League affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.[11]

International play

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout Clark continued his career in Europe. Clark first played through a short stint with Swiss team SC Bern, then with Norwegian outfit Storhamar Dragons.

In 2007, Clark was chosen as the captain of the United States national team for the 2007 IIHF World Championship, where he scored two goals and one assist in six games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1990–91 South Windsor High School HS-CT 23 16 15 31 24 — — — — —
1991–92 Springfield Olympics NEJHL 49 21 29 50 56 — — — — —
1992–93 Springfield Olympics NEJHL 43 17 60 77 120 — — — — —
1993–94 Springfield Olympics NEJHL 35 31 26 57 185 — — — — —
1994–95 Clarkson University ECAC 32 12 11 23 92 — — — — —
1995–96 Clarkson University ECAC 38 10 8 18 106 — — — — —
1996–97 Clarkson University ECAC 37 23 25 48 86 — — — — —
1997–98 Clarkson University ECAC 35 18 21 39 106 — — — — —
1998–99 Saint John Flames AHL 73 13 27 40 123 7 2 4 6 15
1999–2000 Saint John Flames AHL 48 16 17 33 134 — — — — —
1999–2000 Calgary Flames NHL 22 0 1 1 14 — — — — —
2000–01 Saint John Flames AHL 48 18 17 35 131 18 4 10 14 39
2000–01 Calgary Flames NHL 29 5 1 6 38 — — — — —
2001–02 Calgary Flames NHL 64 10 7 17 79 — — — — —
2002–03 Calgary Flames NHL 81 10 12 22 126 — — — — —
2003–04 Calgary Flames NHL 82 10 15 25 106 26 3 3 6 30
2004–05 SC Bern NLA 3 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
2004–05 Storhamar Dragons GET 15 10 4 14 86 7 4 4 8 14
2005–06 Washington Capitals NHL 78 20 19 39 110 — — — — —
2006–07 Washington Capitals NHL 74 30 24 54 66 — — — — —
2007–08 Washington Capitals NHL 18 5 4 9 43 — — — — —
2008–09 Washington Capitals NHL 32 1 5 6 32 8 1 0 1 8
2009–10 Washington Capitals NHL 38 4 11 15 27 — — — — —
2009–10 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 36 3 2 5 21 — — — — —
2010–11 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 53 5 10 15 38 — — — — —
2011–12 Providence Bruins AHL 6 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
NHL totals 607 103 111 214 700 34 4 3 7 38

International
Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2002 United States WC 7th 7 2 0 2 6
2007 United States WC 5th 6 2 1 3 4
Senior totals 13 4 1 5 10

Awards and honors
Award Year
All-ECAC Hockey Rookie Team 1994–95
All-ECAC Hockey Second team 1997–98

References
  1. "Chris Clark player biography". Washington Capitals. 2009-05-06. Archived from the original on 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  2. White, Joseph (2006). "Caps Name Chris Clark Captain". WTOPnews.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
  3. Clark to Have Wrist Surgery Yahoo Sports, February 2, 2009
  4. "Capitals Trade Clark, Jurcina to Blue Jackets for Chimera". TSN.
  5. "Clark preparing for first game with Blue Jackets". NHL. Archived from the original on 2010-01-16.
  6. "Chris Clark accepts tryout invitation from Bruins". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2011-09-13.
  7. "Chris Clark Released from Tryout, Jordan Caron Makes Squad As Bruins Finalize Opening Night Roster". NESN. 2011-10-05.
  8. "P-Bruins Sign Clark". Providence Bruins. November 3, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-11-05.
  9. "P-Bruins Release Clark". Providence Bruins. November 21, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-12-27.
  10. "Clark joins staff". Columbus Dispatch. 2012-06-05. Archived from the original on 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  11. "Blue Jackets Name Chris Clark Monsters' General Manager". Cleveland Monsters. June 18, 2019. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
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