Chris Clark (born March 8, 1976) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 hock ...

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who 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 ...

(NHL) for the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

and

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

. In 2019, he was named the general manager of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

Cleveland 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 ...

Playing career

College

Clark played four years for the

Clarkson Golden Knights The Clarkson Golden Knights are composed of 20 teams representing Clarkson University in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's alpine skiing, basketball, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, nordic skiing, soccer, and swimming. Men' ...

in the ECAC (

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I), recording 128 points (63 goals and 65 assists) and 392 penalty minutes in 142 games. He was named to the ECAC Second All-Star team in 1998.

Professional

Clark was drafted in the third round, 77th overall, by the

in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He played five seasons with the Flames. In his final season with the team, he played in every game and helped the team to the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, which they lost to the

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 ...

. Clark was traded to the

as a restricted free agent on August 4, 2005, in exchange for a conditional pick in the 2006 Entry Draft. He scored 20 goals and 19 assists (39 points) with the Capitals in his first season, playing alongside rookie

Alexander Ovechkin Alexander Mikhailovich Ovechkin ( rus, Александр Михайлович Овечкин, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐˈvʲetɕkʲɪn; born 17 September 1985) is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Washington Capitals ...

. The Capitals named Clark their new team captain on September 13, 2006. Clark then set career-high numbers in goals (30), assists (24) and points (54) during the 2006–07 season, continuing to play alongside Ovechkin. Clark was injured in the third period of a 2–1 shootout loss to the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

on November 28, 2007, and missed the next 18 games with a strained

groin In human anatomy, the groin (the adjective is ''inguinal'', as in inguinal canal) is the junctional area (also known as the inguinal region) between the abdomen and the thigh on either side of the pubic bone. This is also known as the medial comp ...

muscle. He returned to the lineup on February 13, 2008, but played only one shift against the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

. Clark kicked out his skate in an attempt to stop a pass when he aggravated the groin injury. Clark missed the remainder of the regular season and playoffs. After suffering a wrist injury in February 2009, Clark required surgery which ended his 2008–09 season. He skated with the team during the pre-game skate before Game 5 of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoff game against the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

, but did not return until Game 7, taking the place of Donald Brashear, who was suspended for six games after his late hit on New York's Blair Betts. On December 28, 2009, Clark (along with defenseman

Milan Jurčina Milan Jurčina (; born 7 June 1983) is a Slovak professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He has previously play ...

) was traded to the

in exchange for winger Jason Chimera. Clark was the third-longest tenured captain in the history of the Washington Capitals, behind only

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

Rod Langway Rodney Cory Langway (born May 3, 1957) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played for the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League (NHL) and Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Associati ...

and

Dale Hunter Dale Robert Hunter (born July 31, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and the former head coach of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and current co-owner, president, and head coach of the London Knights o ...

. During the 2011 off-season, Clark accepted a try-out invitation from the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

. Despite having an impressive pre-season, he was released from the Bruins training camp on October 5, 2011, without a contract. On November 3, 2011, Clark signed a professional tryout agreement with the

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the primary development team for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rh ...

, the

(AHL) affiliate of the Boston Bruins. He was released by Providence on November 21, 2011, after six games, failing to record a point during his tryout period.

Retirement

After he was released by Providence, Clark took up a scouting position with the Columbus Blue Jackets organization for the remainder of the 2011–12 season before being named the team's development coach. In 2019, the Blue Jackets named him the general manager of their

affiliate, the

International play

During the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

Clark continued his career in Europe. Clark first played through a short stint with Swiss team

SC Bern Schlittschuh Club Bern (''Ice-skating Club Bern'' in English language, English) is an ice hockey team based in Bern, Switzerland. They play in the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL), the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. ...

, then with Norwegian outfit

Storhamar Dragons Storhamar Hockey, often referred to by its initials SIL, is a Norwegian ice hockey team based in Hamar, Norway. The club currently plays in the Fjordkraft-ligaen, the highest level of Norwegian hockey. The club has won seven regular season titl ...

. In 2007, Clark was chosen as the captain of the United States national team for the 2007 IIHF World Championship, where he scored two goals and one assist in six games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Chris 1976 births Living people American expatriate sportspeople in Norway American men's ice hockey right wingers Calgary Flames draft picks Calgary Flames players Clarkson Golden Knights men's ice hockey players Columbus Blue Jackets coaches Columbus Blue Jackets players Columbus Blue Jackets scouts Ice hockey players from Connecticut People from South Windsor, Connecticut Providence Bruins players SC Bern players Storhamar Dragons players Washington Capitals captains Washington Capitals players