A player who spends as much time in the penalty box as Clifford can easily be dismissed as a goon. In his case that would be a mistake.
Yes, the Los Angeles Kings' second-round pick (No. 35) in the 2009 NHL Draft did lead the team in penalty minutes in each of his first five seasons in the League. And the Ayr, Ontario, native's 141 penalty minutes in his rookie season of 2010-11 were the most by a first-year Kings player since Steve McKenna (150) in 1997-98. And the left wing (6-foot-2, 206 pounds) plays a rough-and-tumble style that generates a lot of contact with opposing players and leads to some fisticuffs.
A player who spends as much time in the penalty box as Clifford can easily be dismissed as a goon. In his case that would be a mistake.
Yes, the Los Angeles Kings' second-round pick (No. 35) in the 2009 NHL Draft did lead the team in penalty minutes in each of his first five seasons in the League. And the Ayr, Ontario, native's 141 penalty minutes in his rookie season of 2010-11 were the most by a first-year Kings player since Steve McKenna (150) in 1997-98. And the left wing (6-foot-2, 206 pounds) plays a rough-and-tumble style that generates a lot of contact with opposing players and leads to some fisticuffs.
But Clifford is also a defensively responsible player who is more than willing to put his body into high-traffic areas and who tirelessly pursues opponents on the forecheck. He became the 20th teenager to play for the Kings when he made his NHL debut Oct. 9, 2010, against the Vancouver Canucks at age 19. He got his first NHL point with an assist Dec. 2, 2010, against the Florida Panthers.
Clifford scored his first NHL goal on Dec. 9, 2010 against the Calgary Flames. He led Kings rookies with seven goals, then appeared in all six games in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, where he had three goals and five points (tying for the team lead in both categories). Those totals gave him the most points in a playoff series by a Kings rookie since 1993.
The following season Clifford was second among Kings forwards with 178 hits. He got his first Gordie Howe Hat Trick with a goal, an assist and a fighting major Jan. 23, 2012, against the Ottawa Senators. In the 2012 playoffs, Los Angeles won all three playoff games Clifford played on the way to winning the franchise's first title.
In addition to leading the NHL with 39 penalty minutes during the 2014 playoffs, Clifford also provided offense in big moments as Los Angeles won the Stanley Cup for the second time in three seasons. Clifford had two assists as the Kings beat the Anaheim Ducks 6-2 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals. He had a goal and an assist in Game 1 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final against the New York Rangers before assisting on Alec Martinez's championship-clinching, double-overtime goal in Game 5.
