The Toronto Maple Leafs swung a deal last night with the Los Angeles Kings to acquire former Barrie Colt and two-time Stanley Cup champion Kyle Clifford.
Shortly after Toronto's 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday night, word came out that the Leafs and Kings had worked out a deal. Toronto also acquired goalie Jack Campbell, who is a former first-round draft pick, in exchange for forward Trevor Moore and two third-round draft picks, one of which is conditional.
Clifford brings plenty of grit to the Leafs lineup, while Campbell could bring some stability to the Leafs goaltending situation.
Clifford, a 29-year-old native of Ayr, Ont., is a pending free agent after this season. The six-foot-two, 211-pound winger has six goals and eight assists in 53 games this season with the lowly Kings, who set second last overall in the NHL standings.
In three seasons with the OHL's Barrie Colts, from 2007 to 2010, Clifford had 45 goals and 55 assists for 100 points in 184 regular-season games. He added 15 points in 31 playoff games.
He was selected by Los Angeles in the second round (35th overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Clifford won Stanley Cups with the Kings in 2012 and 2014.
In 660 NHL regular-season games, he has 60 goals and 69 assists, not to mention 819 penalty minutes, as well as 15 points in 55 playoff games.
Clifford joins other former Colts with the Leafs, including head coach Sheldon Keefe (1998 to 2000) and goalie Michael Hutchinson, a Barrie native who played with his hometown OHL team from 2006 to 2009.
Campbell, 28, has appeared in 57 career NHL games with Los Angeles and one game with Dallas. The Port Huron, Mich., native has compiled a career record of 20-25-5 with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
Campbell was originally selected by the Dallas Stars in the first round (11th overall) of the 2010 NHL draft.
