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Kyle Clifford

Maple Leafs Recall Kyle Clifford

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While there is some risk with only carrying six defensemen on a long road trip, that’s what the Maple Leafs have decided to do as they announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Kyle Clifford from AHL Toronto and he will be in the lineup tonight against Winnipeg.  To make room for him on the active roster, blueliner Filip Kral has been sent back to the Marlies.

Clifford is in his second stint with the Maple Leafs after being acquired from St. Louis last season.  He signed a two-year, one-way deal worth the NHL minimum in both seasons but cleared waivers at the beginning of training camp and has played in two AHL contests so far this season.  His addition to the active roster gives Toronto 15 forwards up with the big club.

As for Kral, his NHL debut will have to wait a little longer.  He was recalled back on Wednesday to serve as the extra defenseman following Jake Muzzin’s injury but didn’t see any game action.  The 23-year-old had 18 points in 51 games with the Marlies last season.

Toronto begins a five-game Western road trip tonight with Muzzin, Timothy Liljegren, and Jordie Benn all on the injured list (the latter two on LTIR).  With teams generally wanting to have some positional insurance when playing on the opposite coast, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kral or another defender brought back up within the next game or two.

Kyle Clifford Suspended One Game

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The Department of Player Safety has assessed Toronto Maple Leafs forward Kyle Clifford a one-game suspension for boarding Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ross Colton in the first period of last night’s Game 1 of the First Round series between the two teams.

After Colton made a play for the puck along the boards early in the first period, he cleared the puck down the ice. Clifford, seconds after Colton lost possession of the puck, forcefully skated into him from behind, making contact with Colton’s back with his elbow. Colton’s head hit the boards and he fell to the ice, although he remained in the game. Clifford was assessed a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct on the play.

In rationalizing the suspension, the Department of Player Safety said the following:

It’s important to note that this is not a case where a sudden or unexpected movement by Colton prior to contact changes a legal check into an illegal one. From the moment Colton appraoches the puck battle until the hit is delivered, Clifford sees nothing but his numbers. While we have heard an argument that Clifford does make some attempt to deliver this contact legally, this remains a forceful hit to a defenseless player who is no longer in possession of the puck. What causes this play to rise to the level of supplemental discipline is the angle from which Clifford approaches this hit, which makes Colton particularly defenseless, combined with his force. If Clifford wants to avoid supplemental discipline on this play, he must further adjust his force to deliver legal body contact, avoid the check entirely, or at the very least minimize the force of the hit. Instead, he finishes with force, driving Colton into the glass dangerously.

Clifford has never been suspended over his 751-game NHL career but has been fined three times.

Four Players Avoid Suspension, Earn Fines

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The first night of the Stanley Cup Playoffs was a wild one, with penalties, fights, and dangerous plays happening all across the league. Kyle Clifford will have a hearing later today for his transgression, but four other players have avoided suspensions entirely. Jared Spurgeon, Wayne Simmonds, Pat Maroon, and Corey Perry have all earned fines for their respective incidents, with the Minnesota Wild captain’s punishment especially notable, given his importance to his team.

Simmonds, Maroon, and Perry were all involved in the same incident, a scrum and subsequent fights that occurred when the game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning was already decided on the scoreboard. All three earned misconducts, and have now been fined for unsportsmanlike conduct. Simmonds and Maroon will both be required to pay $2,250, while Perry faces a $2,500 fine. All three are the maximum allowable under the CBA and are based on their respective salaries.

Spurgeon meanwhile appeared much more in danger of a suspension, given how his incident was perceived. He has been fined $5,000–again the maximum allowable under the CBA–for his cross-check on the ankle of St. Louis Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich. The on-ice officials handed out a two-minute minor penalty late in the third period for the play, which was an obvious outburst of frustration as the Wild lost 4-0.

Given how important he is for the Wild, a fine is the absolute best outcome the team could have hoped for. He will, however, be under increased scrutiny for the rest of the playoffs.

Kyle Clifford To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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Kyle Clifford missed nearly the entire game last night for the Toronto Maple Leafs after earning a misconduct early in the first period, and he’ll have to sit even longer. The Department of Player Safety has announced that Clifford will have a hearing today for boarding Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ross Colton.

After delivering a hit in the corner, Clifford raced up the ice and hit Colton, late, directly from behind, into the boards. While the Tampa Bay forward did not appear to suffer a serious injury, the on-ice officials gave Clifford a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct. Toronto managed to climb their way out of the whole that the veteran forward put them in, but now will have to likely use a different look on the fourth line in game two.

Notably, just a few games ago Clifford was involved in another incident that included the Lightning. On April 22 he was handed a fine for his high-stick on Corey Perry during a scrum. That recent history, despite being of a different nature, will likely factor into the punishment for Clifford.

The Maple Leafs do have several other options for the lineup, though none bring the same kind of physicality as the 31-year-old winger. Even more, head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke glowingly after the game about how much Clifford adds defensively to that group, noting that the line has been the best when it includes him.

Kyle Clifford, Wayne Simmonds Earn Fines

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Sometimes a game that has so much hype surrounding it can turn into something very different, very quickly. With so many talking about last night’s Toronto Maple Leafs-Tampa Bay Lightning game as a potential first-round preview, there was a buzz in the air when the game started. In the end, the Maple Leafs are just lucky to escape without any suspensions.

Both Kyle Clifford and Wayne Simmonds have earned fines today for incidents in last night’s game, which turned into a circus after Erik Kallgren allowed six straight goals in just over 20 minutes of gameplay. The game finished 8-1, with the Maple Leafs taking 63 minutes in penalties and the Lightning adding 49 of their own.

Clifford was fined $2,500 for his high-stick on Corey Perry, when he reached over the top of officials to get at the restrained Tampa Bay forward. Clifford was given a match penalty which comes with an automatic review, but Perry did not suffer an injury on the play. He will escape without a suspension, though his fine was the maximum allowable under the CBA.

For Simmonds, it’s a $2,250 fine for charging Mikhail Sergachev, a play that didn’t even result in a penalty from the on-ice officials. Simmonds did end up with 15 minutes in penalties, including a misconduct as the referees tried to get control of the game. He too will avoid a suspension, though, like any fine, this will be considered whenever there is another supplementary discipline decision.

Petr Mrazek, Four Others Clear Waivers

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March 21: Mrazek, Clifford, Turris, Jaros, and Nash cleared waivers today ahead of the Trade Deadline. Sateri, Richardson, and Pouliot were all claimed.

March 20: The Toronto Maple Leafs have been dealing with goaltending issues for the past while, and after Erik Kallgren was given the net for the last several games, it was unclear where Petr Mrazek fit into the future of the team. Today, the Maple Leafs have offered Mrazek to the rest of the league by placing him on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He is one of three Maple Leafs on the list today, joined by Kyle Clifford and Harri Sateri, a free agent goaltender the Maple Leafs have signed from the KHL, who has to clear waivers before he comes back to North America.

Those aren’t the only players on waivers though. The full list is as follows:

Riley Nash (ARI)
Brad Richardson (CGY)
Kyle Turris (EDM)
Christian Jaros (NJD)
Kyle Clifford (TOR)
Petr Mrazek (TOR)
Harri Sateri (TOR)
Derrick Pouliot (VGK)

Sateri, 32, just won an Olympic gold medal with Finland and has been an excellent netminder in the KHL for the last three seasons, but certainly doesn’t have a very long track record of success in North America. Drafted 106th overall back in 2008 by the San Jose Sharks, he struggled in parts of four minor league seasons before going to Russia. A few years later he was back with the Florida Panthers, where he played in nine NHL games and posted a .911 save percentage. After another sub-par year in the minors he was back overseas.

His signing, which will consist of a one-year contract that carries a cap hit of $750K through the end of this season, could be seen as nothing more than organizational depth at the deadline. With Mrazek’s struggles and placement on waivers today though, along with a recent injury to Jack Campbell, the Maple Leafs crease is completely up for grabs, even for a player like Sateri that is coming in fresh from outside the organization. That is of course as long as he clears, something that is certainly not a guarantee given how inexpensive his contract is.

It’s Mrazek that is the big name, given the fact that he signed a three-year, $11.4MM contract with the Maple Leafs just last summer. With a $3.8MM cap hit through 2023-24, a loan to the minor leagues would only clear $1.125MM for Toronto ahead of the deadline. With how quickly he has fallen out of favor with the Maple Leafs, Mrazek seems a prime buyout candidate for this offseason, should the team be unable to trade his contract elsewhere in the coming months.

Among the rest of the names are some veterans who could be snatched for a playoff run, though none are difference-makers at this point in their respective careers. Notably, for a player to be eligible for the rest of the AHL season and playoffs, he has to be on the roster at tomorrow’s deadline. For these players to get to that threshold, they needed to be placed on waivers today, if there was any thought of stashing them in the AHL down the stretch.

Toronto Maple Leafs Extend Kyle Clifford, Carl Dahlstrom

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have decided they want to keep around some veteran depth, even if it is at the minor league level. The team has signed Kyle Clifford to a two-year extension that will carry an average annual value of $762.5K, and Carl Dahlstrom to a one-year, two-way extension that carries an NHL salary of $750K.

The cap hit for Clifford represents the league minimum in both years (it increases from $750K to $775K in 2023-24) and means he’ll be staying in the Maple Leafs organization through his 33rd birthday. The veteran bottom-six forward has 738 regular season games to his name, but only 12 this season after failing to get into much action with the St. Louis Blues and then spending considerable time with the AHL’s Marlies after arriving in Toronto.

There’s almost no offense in the Stanley Cup champion, but the Maple Leafs have shown they value his leadership and grit enough to trade for him twice in the last few years. It’s no surprise that Clifford was actually Toronto GM Kyle Dubas’ first client during his short period as a player agent. This new deal certainly shouldn’t guarantee a huge amount of playing time, but will reward Clifford handsomely even if he’s playing in the minor leagues.

For Dahlstrom, the season has been spent almost exclusively in the minors, with just a single appearance for the Maple Leafs to this point. The 6’5″ defenseman has been good for the Marlies, racking up 13 points in 36 games, but shouldn’t be expected to take an NHL job anytime soon. Signing him to a short-term extension maintains some organizational depth, while giving the 27-year-old stability he hasn’t had the last few years as he bounced around the league.

Maple Leafs Notes: Deadline Plan, Cap Room, Trade Preference, AHL Conversions

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Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas met with reporters today (video link) and indicated that with their limited salary cap space, he wants to wait as long as possible before trying to make a move to bolster his team before the trade deadline.  Toronto, like several contenders, will probably only have enough cap room to make one addition of note and with them not being in LTIR (unlike several contenders), there’s a direct benefit to waiting until closer to deadline day on March 21st when they will have been able to bank more room and there will be less money to take on.

More from Dubas regarding the Maple Leafs:

  • To help create some of that cap space, veterans Nick Ritchie and Kyle Clifford will report to AHL Toronto now with the taxi squads gone. While they can clear Clifford’s $1MM price tag entirely, they won’t be able to clear all of Ritchie’s $2.5MM AAV and will carry a pro-rated $1.375MM charge while he’s with the Marlies.  It’s also likely that they’ll try to go with a minimum-sized roster or close to it when they can; both Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin can be moved back and forth without requiring waivers.
  • Dubas also reiterated his desire to trade for someone signed beyond this season although fitting that player in next year may be tricky with Morgan Rielly’s extension kicking in and the Upper Limit expected to only be slightly above the $81.5MM mark that it’s currently at. Toronto has over $74MM in commitments for next season to just 14 players, per CapFriendly, with starting goalie Jack Campbell eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer.
  • Dubas was non-committal about whether or not he’d convert Josh Ho-Sang to an NHL deal following the Olympics. There were reports that such a move was being considered but it was put on hold once it was clear that Ho-Sang would be suiting up for Canada in that event.  Dubas referenced former NHL forwards Antti Suomela and Joseph Blandisi plus winger Curtis Douglas as others they’re monitoring to see whether or not they’re worth converting to NHL contracts.

Kyle Clifford Traded To Toronto Maple Leafs

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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.

Kyle Clifford Placed On Waivers

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Nov 16: Clifford has cleared waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He can now be assigned to the AHL.

Nov 15: The St. Louis Blues have placed Kyle Clifford on waivers, according to Jeff Marek of Sportsnet. With Scott Perunovich’s recall, the team needed to clear more than $900K in cap space if they wanted to activate Oskar Sundqvist from injured reserve. Clifford, who makes $1MM this season, could be loaned to the minor leagues should he clear waivers, completely burying his cap hit.

Clifford, 30, has only played two games for the Blues this season, spending nearly two weeks in the COVID protocol. The fourth-line forward did register a point in one of those two matches, but has very limited offensive upside. That, added to the fact that he makes more than league minimum, makes him an unlikely claim candidate, though perhaps a team believes he can add some extra toughness to their bottom-six. There’s certainly a case for the experience factor, as Clifford has played in more than 700 NHL games and won the Stanley Cup twice with the Los Angeles Kings.

Sundqvist is a much more useful player though, and given Perunovich’s incredible start in the minor leagues, it was hard to justify keeping him down any longer. Making room for the young defenseman could potentially cost them Clifford, but with the team on a three-game losing streak and falling behind in the Central Division race, something needed to be changed.

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