Chris Clark (born March 8, 1976) is an 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 ...

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, a ...

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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

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 The 1994 NHL Entry Draft was the 32nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Hartford Civic Center on June 28–29, 1994. The last active players in the NHL from this draft class were Patrik Elias and Eric Boulton, who both played their last NHL ...

. 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 The 2004 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2003–04 season, and the culmination of the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Western ...

, 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 Capital ...

. 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 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 Well ...

. 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) 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 Famer

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 ...

. 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

(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 Clark continued his career in Europe. Clark first played through a short stint with Swiss team SC Bern, then with Norwegian outfit Storhamar Dragons. In 2007, Clark was chosen as the captain of the United States national team for the

2007 IIHF World Championship The 2007 IIHF World Championship was held between 27 April and 13 May 2007 in Moscow, Russia. It was the 71st annual world championship event run by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The tournament was won by Canada with Rick N ...

, 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