Brett Barry Clark (born December 23, 1976) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

- American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

. He previously played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

with the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

, Atlanta Thrashers,

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

and the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

Playing career

Clark was drafted in the 6th round, 154th overall, by the

in the

1996 NHL Entry Draft The 1996 NHL Entry Draft was the 34th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 22, 1996. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Zdeno Chára, who retired after the 2021–22 season. ...

. He was selected from the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...

of the

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

where he named to the All-Rookie Team in his freshman year. Under the preference of the Canadiens, Clark spent the following season developing with the Canadian National Team program, before he made his professional debut in the 1997–98 season. After only 20 games with AHL affiliate, the

Fredericton Canadiens The Fredericton Canadiens, or the 'Baby Habs' were a professional ice hockey team in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The Canadiens played their home games at the Aitken Centre. They were a member of the American Hockey League from 1990 to 1999, and we ...

, Clark made his debut with the Canadiens and remained with the team scoring a goal, on his 21st birthday, in 41 games for the season. Not used as a depth defenseman in the playoffs, he further established himself in the 1998–99 season, appearing in 61 contests for the Canadiens. On June 25, 1999, Clark was claimed in the 1999 expansion draft by the Atlanta Thrashers. His NHL career stalled with the Thrashers, unable to find a role in his three seasons. He found success on the Thrashers' minor-league affiliate team, winning the

Turner Cup The Turner Cup was the championship trophy of the International Hockey League from 1945 to 2001 and the renamed United Hockey League from 2007 to 2010. The Cup was named for Joe Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario. Turner became professi ...

in 2001 with the

Orlando Solar Bears The Orlando Solar Bears are a professional ice hockey team that plays their home games at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning of t ...

. During the 2001–02 season on January 24, 2002, Clark was traded by the Thrashers to the Colorado Avalanche for Frederic Cassivi. He spent the majority of the next three seasons with the Avalanche's affiliate, the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...

of the AHL. He was twice named the Bears' best defenseman of the year, and led the AHL in plus/minus (+28) in 2000–01. After the 2004 NHL Lockout, and at age 28, Clark finally established a role as a two-way defenseman with the Avalanche in 2005–06. He appeared in 80 games and scored a respectable 36 points. In his playoff debut, he scored against the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

in game one of the Western Conference Quarterfinals on April 22, and subsequently finished the playoffs tied with

Rob Blake Robert Bowlby Blake (born December 10, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He is the current general manager of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally drafted by the Kin ...

for the team scoring lead among defenseman with four points. On June 30, 2006, Clark re-signed on a two-year contract with Colorado. In the 2006–07 season, Clark had a career-high year appearing in 82 games and scoring 10 goals for 39 points and leading the NHL in average shifts per game. On February 24, 2007, Clark played in his 300th career NHL game against the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

. On August 27, 2007, Clark signed a two-year contract extension with the Avalanche prior to the 2007–08 season. He again led the NHL in shifts per game before he was sidelined for the rest of the regular season and playoffs after suffering a

dislocated shoulder A dislocated shoulder is a condition in which the head of the humerus is detached from the shoulder joint. Symptoms include shoulder pain and instability. Complications may include a Bankart lesion, Hill-Sachs lesion, rotator cuff tear, or inj ...

on February 12, 2008. In 2008–09 Clark returned to set an Avalanche record of 238 hits, second in the NHL, but struggled offensively in recording 12 points in 76 games. In the 2009–10 season, on January 29, Clark appeared in his 500th career NHL game against the Dallas Stars. After eight seasons within the Avalanche organization Clark left as a free agent to sign a two-year contract with the

on July 5, 2010. In the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

season, Clark was re-inserted on the powerplay with the Lightning and produced 9 goals for his highest total since 2007, helping the Lightning advance to the 2011 Eastern Conference finals. A free agent upon the

2012 NHL lockout 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length ...

, Clark signed an AHL contract with the Oklahoma City Barons during the midpoint of the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season on January 21, 2013. Clark immediately established himself within the Barons producing 17 points in just 18 games. On March 13, 2013, Clark signalled his return to the NHL after he was signed to add a veteran presence for the remainder of the season with the Minnesota Wild. Clark primarily was used as a reserve defensemen however played in 8 games with the Wild, compiling 1 assist. A free agent again well into the 2013–14 season, Clark signed a professional try-out with the

Lake Erie Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hock ...

on December 6, 2013, marking a return of sorts to NHL affiliate, the Colorado Avalanche. Unable to help the Monsters qualify for the playoffs, Clark was still able to contribute from the blueline with 6 goals and 14 points in 53 games. Prior to the 2014–15 season, Clark announced the end of his playing career but remained in the Avalanche organization by accepting a player development consultant position.

Personal life

Brett is married to Candace and has 2 kids; son Cail, born in 2003, and daughter Ava, who was born December 10, 2007. He is the nephew of NHL hockey player Dave Dunn. On July 5, 2018, Clark was formally sworn in as a United States citizen, having resided in Denver, Colorado since his retirement.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Brett 1976 births Atlanta Thrashers players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Wolves players Colorado Avalanche players Fredericton Canadiens players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Lake Erie Monsters players Living people Maine Black Bears men's ice hockey players Melville Millionaires players Minnesota Wild players Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players Oklahoma City Barons players Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) players Tampa Bay Lightning players