Just a short time following their loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday evening, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced the acquisitions of Kyle Clifford and Jack Campbell from the Los Angeles Kings for Trevor Moore and picks.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.ca was first to report the ongoing discussions, noting that talks between the two sides were involving both Campbell and Clifford being dealt to Toronto.
Minutes later, the Maple Leafs confirmed the acquisition of the backstop and forward while sending Moore and a pair of picks the other way in return to Los Angeles. As per Maple Leafs PR, the Kings will retain 50 percent of Clifford’s salary as part of the transaction.
According to Kyle Cushman of Editor in Leaf, Jack Campbell, the American backstop, has a cap hit of $675K. This is joined by a two-year deal worth 1.65 million kicking in next season. As for Kyle Clifford, the Canadian left-winger is a pending unrestricted free agent who’s currently making $1.6 million.
As per Craig Button, analyst and scout at TSN, this wouldn’t be the first time that GM Kyle Dubas has rung up a trade with Jack Campbell included. The last time he did that was back with the OHL’s Sault. St. Marie Greyhounds.
Going to the Los Angeles Kings is a 2020 third-round draft pick from the Columbus which will be joined by a conditional third round-pick for the NHL Entry Draft in 2021. According to TSN’s Craig Button, Jack Campbell fits perfectly with the Maple Leafs while Kyle Clifford brings dimension to Toronto.
According to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, the Leafs and Kings have been discussing this deal for a few weeks leading up to Wednesday night. As well, he notes that things intensified in the last couple days to close the book on this deal.
As per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic Toronto and TSN, the conditional third in 2021 becomes a second round pick in one of two casenarios. The first is if Clifford re-signs or if Jack Campbell wins six games in Toronto. He also mentions that the Kings are guaranteed at least the third-round pick should neither of those conditions be met by the players. The final detail of the condition would be if the Maple Leafs qualify for the playoffs.
Following the completion of this deal, Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic reports that the Maple Leafs playoff chances increase five percentage points after dropping eight percentage points from the loss to the Rangers.
Starting with goaltender Jack Campbell, the 28-year-old, thus far, has appeared in 57 career games at the NHL level, this being split between 56 with Los Angeles and just a single game played with the Dallas Stars. Through those games, the Port Huron native has racked up a record of 20-25-5, this being joined by a GAA of 2.58 and a .916 save percentage. He was originally selected by Dallas in the first round (11th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
As for Kyle Clifford, the 29-year-old has appeared in a total of 660 career NHL games. While he’s spent his career all with the Kings, the Ayr, Ontario native has scored 60 goals and 69 assists. This makes for a total of 129 points recorded with Los Angeles. Clifford is a two-time Stanley Cup champion having won with the team two years apart back in 2012 and 2014. He was originally selected by the Kings in the second round (35th overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. According to Elliotte Friedman, when Kyle Dubas was previously an agent, his very first client was Kyle Clifford.
Going from the Leafs to Los Angeles is Thousand Oaks native and left-winger Trevor Moore. Moore, 24-years-old, has played four seasons in the AHL, two of which he split with the Marlies and Toronto Maple Leafs for a good chunk of games. Taking a look at his performance last year, the left-handed shooter scored 11 goals, this being the high for his career, for 21 points in 72 games played. Comparing his numbers this season, Trevor Moore has picked up on his play, scoring six goals for 14 points, this being the case through 53 games played.