After a physical incapacitation before the start of the 2016/2017 season, ice hockey right-winger David Clarkson was placed on the Columbus Blue Jackets’ long-term injured reserve.
Worse, he was ruled out for the rest of the season. As a result, Clarkson had to unofficially retire from the season. And due to the severity of his injury, he may never be able to play another NHL game. His contract was acquired by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Despite not playing, Clarkson continues to win thanks to the 7-year contract he signed with the Toronto Maples in 2014.
His injury may have robbed him of his playing time, but David Clarkson remained active in hockey as a coach. In 2016, he volunteered to be the assistant head coach for the Bears Ice hockey team at Upper Arlington High School which plays in the USHS-OH league. In 2017, Clarkson assumed the position of head coach.
David Clarkson Biography
David Clarkson aka Dave Clarkson was born on March 31, 1984, in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. Influenced by his father, a longtime Maple Leafs season ticket holder, Dave grew to love ice hockey. At age 15, he began his career with the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League. He also played for the Aurora Tigers and ended his junior career playing for the Kitchener Rangers. During the 2002-03 season, Clarkson won the Memorial Cup with Kitchener.
The ex-Canadian hockey player turned professional in 2005, he went undrafted and was signed as a free agent by the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League. A month after signing, Clarkson was assigned to the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League, then to the Lowell Devils, a small Devils team that played in the AHL.
By the end of the 2006/2007 season, Clarkson had improved enough to earn his first NHL appearance with the New Jersey Devils. He didn’t score a goal in his first game against the Carolina Hurricanes. However, in his second game against Carolina, he scored a goal, but unfortunately that wasn’t enough to convince his team to win 7-2 at Carolina.
During the 2007/2008 season, Clarkson was signed to a two-year contract worth $800,000 per year with the Devils. Subsequently, Clarkson signed another three-year contract which would see him stay in the side until the 2012–13 season.
Following the 2012–13 NHL lockout – a labor dispute between the NHL and the NHLPA, Clarkson signed with Austrian team EC Red Bull Salzburg. However, he returned to the Devils in 2013-14 after the lock went out.
After his contract with the Devils ended, Clarkson became an unrestricted free agent again. He rejected a deal with the Devils, who preferred to sign a seven-year, $36.75 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Unfortunately, an improved contract did not mean an improved performance on the field for Clarkson. Dissatisfied with his somewhat rusty performance, Toronto had enough in his second season with the club and traded him for the Columbus Blue Jackets. In exchange, he used the services of Nathan Horton. The unfortunate trade of July 2015 saw the deal struck between Toronto and Clarkson one of the worst in NHL history.
To be fair, Clarkson’s unimpressive performance wasn’t entirely his fault. A back injury he suffered from his days with the Devils would hamper his later performances. Without the injury, Clarkson might have become the franchise star player Toronto wanted him to be.
Clarkson found a way to play with the injury, but it got worse over time. He needs surgery to repair all three degenerating discs in his spine, but if he ever opted for surgery that would involve a fusion of his spine, his NHL career would truly be over. However, without the surgery, Clarkson still needs a miracle to get back on the saddle.
Facts About David Clarkson
1. His dream as a young boy was to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
2. Clarkson won the 2008 NHL Youth Game.
3 NHL trades are guaranteed, which means Clarkson continues to win, but not an active player. However, Clarkson’s contract is insured, meaning he can only receive 20% of his contract’s gross money under the terms of the contract. At the end of his contract for the 2019/2020 season, Clarkson was expected to have earned around $5.7 million.
4 In 2010, Clarkson married Brittney Roberts with whom he has three children, including two daughters, McKinnley (born in 2011) and Teagan (born in 2016), and a son, Colton, born in 2013. The Clarksons live in Upper Arlington , Ohio.
5. David Clarkson is 6 feet tall and weighs around 200 pounds.
6. He runs a charity called Clarky’s Kids in Kitchener, Ontario. It was launched in 2007 and aims to raise funds for sick children.