Claesson shares special moment with daughter prior to game vs. Sens

If you follow the Tampa Bay Lightning twitter account, you no doubt saw one of the cutest videos of the season so far during pregame warmups prior to the Bolts road-trip finale in Ottawa on Saturday.

In it, Fredrik Claesson, making his first start of the season, was on the ice going through warmups when he spotted his wife Selena and one-year-old daughter Cali Kiara up against the glass near the Lightning bench.
Claesson skated up next to them and waved to his family. He made a few funny faces trying to get a reaction from his baby girl, sticking his tongue out and gave a shocked face while she reached toward the glass for her father.

The encounter only lasted a few seconds, but it's one Claesson will never forget. And he's happy there's video of it to show his daughter when she gets a little older too. His wife and child live in Ottawa while Claesson shuttles back and forth between Tampa and the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Syracuse, so he doesn't get to see them as much as he would like. The fact he was able to make his Tampa Bay season debut in Ottawa, where he broke into the League during the 2015-16 season and spent four seasons in the Senators' farm system, was a blessing in disguise for the Stockholm, Sweden native as it allowed him to have friends and family in the stands.
And Cali Kiara, who was attending her first NHL game according to Claesson and got to see daddy play for the first time up close.
"It kind of felt like home playing there," Claesson said. "…Sometimes I can go home and see them, but it's not that often. It's tough, but it's what's best from there."
Claesson was in the lineup because Mikhail Sergachev was suspended two games following supplemental discipline issued from his hit to the head against Toronto's Mitch Marner two nights earlier. Claesson was recalled from Syracuse the morning of the game in Ottawa and was on the ice for the Saturday matinee 5-3 victory over the Senators, taking two shots, dishing out a hit and blocking a shot in 8:30 time on ice.
It's a difficult situation to be in for Claesson, who has accumulated 162 career regular season games over seven seasons with Ottawa, the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, San Jose and Tampa Bay. He's essentially an extra defenseman for the Lightning. When all of the Bolts blueliners are healthy and able to play, he's not in the lineup. But he also sticks around more often than not to fill in when somebody does go down, which means he doesn't get much action in Syracuse either.
When he stepped into the lineup Saturday, he'd only played three games with the Crunch, posting an assist and a plus-three rating. And he only played six games all of last season between San Jose and Tampa Bay.
"Felt like I've always been the odd-man out," Claesson said. "It's a tough position. You've got to stay ready and be prepared and do that extra work every day. When you get the opportunity, you want to do good."
Claesson joined the Lightning at the trade deadline last season from San Jose, the Bolts giving up the rights to goaltender Magnus Chrona to acquire him April 12, 2021. Claesson spent most of the season on Tampa Bay's taxi squad, although he did get into the final two regular season games at Florida, logging a combined 12 penalty minutes and five blocked shots. He was with the Lightning throughout their postseason run to the second of back-to-back Stanley Cup championships but didn't play in any of the playoff games. And he came into this season as a valuable member of the Bolts blueline, someone able to fill a role in the NHL when needed while also mentoring some of the younger defensemen and being a leader when he's playing in Syracuse.
"I've been on a lot of teams, and I feel like the most special thing about this group is the guys," Claesson said of the Lightning. "They've been together for a long time, and you can feel like all the guys are caring about each other and want what's best for them and what's best for the team."

Claesson will probably play again tonight when the Lightning start a three-game homestand at AMALIE Arena against the Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. puck drop) as Sergachev will have to sit out one more game.
And then maybe he'll stick around with the Lightning. Or he might go back to Syracuse and help out there.
Such is life for the 28-year-old Claesson, who's gotten used to bouncing back and forth from team to team but takes advantage of his opportunities when they come his way.
Like giving himself, his family and, eventually when she sees the video, his baby girl Cali Kiara the memory of a lifetime on a random Saturday afternoon in Ottawa.