Toronto Marlies Bring Back Veteran Kyle Clifford
Kyle Clifford will be staying in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization after the 33-year old signed a one-year American Hockey League contract with the Marlies.
The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired the Ayr, Ontario native a month prior to the NHL Trade Deadline in February 2020 from the Los Angeles Kings along with Jack Campbell in exchange for Trevor more and a pair of third round picks. Clifford had been a former second round pick of the Kings and won to Stanley Cups with the franchise in 2012 and 2014.
This past season with the Marlies Clifford proved to be a productive forward collecting 28 points, including ten goals in 53 games while registering 140 penalty minutes and served as one of two alternate captains on the team.
In the playoffs, he collected another four points in three games and made headlines when he fought career goon Boko Imama in the handshake line after the Belleville Senators knocked out the Marlies from the playoffs.
In his first stint with the Maple Leafs Clifford collected a goal and three points in 16 games and then went pointless during the five game play-in series loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. At first there was speculation he may return, however he decided he would leave in free agency to the St. Louis Blues.
Clifford Has a Short Departure Before Returning
Only 13 months after departing for the Blues organization, former general manager Kyle Dubas re-acquired Clifford in November 2021 for future considerations.
Clifford would shuffle back and forth between the Marlies and Maple Leafs throughout the year eventually starting Game 1 of the playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Unfortunately, just seven minutes into the game he would receive a game misconduct for boarding on Ross Colton, which led to a one game suspension the NHL Department of Player Safety and he never got back into the lineup during the series
That would be his last time he would play in an NHL playoff game as despite getting a contract from the Maple Leafs for league minimum for the 2022-23 season he would get into just two regular games while spending the rest of the year with the Marlies.
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With 753 NHL games to his credit and 110 AHL games, along some of the franchises top prospects graduating to the Torono Marlies, the team will look to Clifford for leadership and protection of their young group.