The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded for Kyle Clifford once again, this time sending only future considerations to the St. Louis Blues for the veteran forward. Clifford cleared waivers today, meaning he can be immediately assigned to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.
In 2020, the Maple Leafs acquired Clifford along with Jack Campbell in a trade that saw Trevor Moore and two third-round draft picks go the other way. This time it will likely cost them nothing but money, something that not every team wants to spend on a fringe option. Clifford carries a cap hit of $1MM, which can be entirely buried in the minor leagues, but his one-way salary of $1.3MM will be paid to him no matter where he is assigned.
For the Maple Leafs, who are currently in long-term injured reserve space with both Ilya Mikheyev and Petr Mrazek on the shelf, Clifford could actually slide in on the active roster. The team sent Joey Anderson back to the minor leagues yesterday and are carrying only 13 forwards. That said, his cap hit will become trickier to work with once Mikheyev and Mrazek return.
The 30-year-old brings a ton of experience to the table though, along with his familiarity with former teammates like Campbell and Jake Muzzin. Clifford won the 2014 Stanley Cup–his second with the team–alongside Muzzin in Los Angeles and has suited up for nearly 800 games at the NHL level. While he does not bring much offense, Clifford is a physical presence that could give the Maple Leafs a bit of a jolt for their fourth line.
For the Blues, who are getting Oskar Sundkvist back tonight, there just wasn’t room for Clifford any longer. The team had to clear cap space to recall Scott Perunovich and instead of sending Clifford to the Springfield Thunderbirds, will send him back to his home province and former team.
So future considerations can only be money? Or is there a chance it could be a late draft pick or nothing at all? Not that it matters just didn’t know the exact nature if future considerations
It quite often ends up being nothing.
Sometimes, a trade including AHL players will be completed between the two affiliates soon after–since they cannot be included in an NHL deal. Draft picks, almost always, are not the result of future considerations–if they are involved, they’re listed as conditional picks.
Just as an example, the Maple Leafs and Blues completed a trade in 2019 that sent Dakota Joshua to St. Louis for future considerations. Perhaps consider this deal as the return (though it isn’t, exactly).
Thanks for the explanation!
Seems to me that Clifford put in a lot more energy and commitment than some of the other Blues at the moment.
Perron has all but disappeared, and Ryan O’Reilly looks like he has Long Covid affects. James Neal has his paycheck for the year and is sitting back and enjoying the ride. The Blues had a legitimate reason to be horrible with all the Covid/ injury woes, but with only Mikkola and Schenn missing ( and he ain’t no firecracker) what’s the excuse now?
Great kid. Huge heart loved watching him in LA. Once every 10 games or so, he’ll pull of a toe drag or something that will stun you compared to his usual direct, no frills, very little production style.
Would NOT want to piss him off in any way. He will definitely fight to protect his teammates.