Cal Clutterbuck says he's retiring after 17 NHL seasons with the Islanders and Wild
FILE - Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Zach Bogosian (24) is checked by New York Islanders right wing Cal Clutterbuck (15) during the second period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Eastern Conference final, Sept. 17, 2020, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP, file)
FILE - New York Islanders right wing Cal Clutterbuck (15) collides with Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Michael Blunden (46) during the first period of Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference semifinals, May 6, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, file)
FILE - New York Islanders right wing Cal Clutterbuck skates on the ice in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings, March 21, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, file)
FILE - New York Islanders right wing Cal Clutterbuck skates on the ice in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings, March 21, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, file)
FILE - Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Zach Bogosian (24) is checked by New York Islanders right wing Cal Clutterbuck (15) during the second period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Eastern Conference final, Sept. 17, 2020, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP, file)
FILE - New York Islanders right wing Cal Clutterbuck (15) collides with Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Michael Blunden (46) during the first period of Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference semifinals, May 6, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, file)
FILE - New York Islanders right wing Cal Clutterbuck skates on the ice in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings, March 21, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, file)
Cal Clutterbuck, the NHL's all-time leader in hits, announced he is retiring from hockey after playing more than 1,100 games over 17 seasons, including more than a decade as a fourth-line staple for the New York Islanders.
Clutterbuck's 4,029 hits are the most since the league started tracking them in 2005. He posted a video to Instagram on Wednesday along with a message thanking longtime linemates Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas and fans who made Long Island his home.
Advertisement
'I'm beyond grateful for every teammate, coach, fan, and moment along the way,' Clutterbuck wrote. 'Hockey gave me everything — a purpose, a brotherhood, and a lifetime of memories. To Matt and Casey — it was an honor to go to war with you night in and night out. What we built together means more than words can say.'
Clutterbuck did not play in the league this season after his contract was not renewed last summer, something he referenced in making the announcement. His announcement came a day after the Islanders said longtime general manager Lou Lamoriello was not returning.
'Obviously I haven't played hockey in the NHL in a year, and I think it's safe to say that everyone assumed, but I'm going to make it official today: I am retiring from the NHL,' Clutterbuck said in the roughly minute-long video.
Clutterbuck recorded his retirement announcement earlier this month after attending the Masters with his father and some friends.
Advertisement
'I couldn't help but think about how I would have never been able to do that if I were still playing hockey,' Clutterbuck said.
Now 37, Clutterbuck played his first six seasons from 2007-13 with the Minnesota Wild after they drafted him in the third round in '06. They traded him to New York the summer of 2013 with a third-rounder for Nino Niederreiter.
Clutterbuck became a popular teammate and fan favorite, playing his final 794 regular-season and playoff games with the Islanders to reach 1,145 in his career. He helped them make seven postseason appearances, including two trips to the Eastern Conference final.
He posted that he recorded multiple times trying to deliver the news, ending the video saying: 'I really have no idea how to do this. That's it. I'm done. See ya.'
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
21 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Knicks shed stability of Thibodeau era by seeking a new coach after they had gotten good
Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Tom Thibodeau's firing brought back some of the confusion and chaos the New York Knicks had seemingly left behind. After an era of stability and more success than they had enjoyed in a quarter of a century, the Knicks opened a coaching search few could have predicted when they fired Thibodeau on Tuesday. 'When I first saw it, I thought it was one of those fake AI things. No way. There's no way possible,' Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. Coaching searches weren't unusual in New York for much of the 2000s, but the Knicks weren't winning then. This time, they had just reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years before losing to Carlisle's team, and were an early favorite to do it again next year. So changing course brought swift and strong reaction from a fan base that seemed satisfied. Who decided Thibodeau had to go? And why? 'That seemed like an unfortunate call that the boss made, certainly for him,' tennis Hall of Famer John McEnroe, a Knicks fan, said while calling the French Open quarterfinals for TNT. But which boss? Direct answers may not come. Knicks leadership, from owner James Dolan to team president Leon Rose, doesn't do interviews with the reporters who cover the team. So the only hint may have come in the team's statement announcing the firing, in which Rose said the organization was 'singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans.' That means the view was that Thibodeau was good enough to get the Knicks close but not all the way. Rose was friends with Thibodeau long before hiring him in 2020 and giving him a three-year contract extension last summer. So immediate speculation was that Dolan, who at times has been viewed as meddlesome and unpopular with his team's fans, must have ordered the ouster. But a person with knowledge of the decision, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details were to remain private, said Rose made the call with Dolan's approval. Rose conducted a thorough search five years ago, even though Thibodeau had been viewed as a favorite because of his relationship both to Rose and the organization as an assistant to Jeff Van Gundy in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Van Gundy has returned to coaching as an assistant with the Clippers, if the Knicks wanted to gauge interest in a reunion. Michael Malone, who led Denver to the 2023 NBA title, is another former Knicks assistant who is available, as is Johnnie Bryant, who was beaten out Wednesday by Jordan Ott for Phoenix's head coaching position. Rick Pitino, Dan Hurley and John Calipari are all big names with ties to the New York area if Rose wanted to go the college route, and the retired Jay Wright coached current Knicks players Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges on national championship teams at Villanova. Brunson's father, Rick, was an assistant on Thibodeau's staff, if Rose wanted to promote the team captain's father. The Knicks had 12 different coaches between the time Van Gundy resigned early in the 2001-02 season and Thibodeau's hiring, and they won just one playoff series. Thibodeau won four in the last three seasons. McEnroe thought that earned Thibodeau another year, a common reaction to his firing. The Knicks decided otherwise, sending Rose into a search with much higher consequences than last time. Back then, on the heels of seven straight losing seasons, he just needed a coach who could win some games. Now he needs one who can deliver a championship. 'I mean, I'm not really in that situation, but the thing I can say is Thibs did a lot for New York," said Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein, who played in New York last season. 'He did a lot just building that culture over there. So I think I have a lot of respect for him.' ___ AP Sports Writer Cliff Brunt in Oklahoma City contributed to this report. ___ AP NBA: recommended
21 minutes ago
Knicks shed stability of Thibodeau era by seeking a new coach after they had gotten good
NEW YORK -- Tom Thibodeau's firing brought back some of the confusion and chaos the New York Knicks had seemingly left behind. After an era of stability and more success than they had enjoyed in a quarter of a century, the Knicks opened a coaching search few could have predicted when they fired Thibodeau on Tuesday. 'When I first saw it, I thought it was one of those fake AI things. No way. There's no way possible,' Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. Coaching searches weren't unusual in New York for much of the 2000s, but the Knicks weren't winning then. This time, they had just reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years before losing to Carlisle's team, and were an early favorite to do it again next year. So changing course brought swift and strong reaction from a fan base that seemed satisfied. Who decided Thibodeau had to go? And why? 'That seemed like an unfortunate call that the boss made, certainly for him,' tennis Hall of Famer John McEnroe, a Knicks fan, said while calling the French Open quarterfinals for TNT. But which boss? Direct answers may not come. Knicks leadership, from owner James Dolan to team president Leon Rose, doesn't do interviews with the reporters who cover the team. So the only hint may have come in the team's statement announcing the firing, in which Rose said the organization was 'singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans.' That means the view was that Thibodeau was good enough to get the Knicks close but not all the way. Rose was friends with Thibodeau long before hiring him in 2020 and giving him a three-year contract extension last summer. So immediate speculation was that Dolan, who at times has been viewed as meddlesome and unpopular with his team's fans, must have ordered the ouster. But a person with knowledge of the decision, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details were to remain private, said Rose made the call with Dolan's approval. Rose conducted a thorough search five years ago, even though Thibodeau had been viewed as a favorite because of his relationship both to Rose and the organization as an assistant to Jeff Van Gundy in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Van Gundy has returned to coaching as an assistant with the Clippers, if the Knicks wanted to gauge interest in a reunion. Michael Malone, who led Denver to the 2023 NBA title, is another former Knicks assistant who is available, as is Johnnie Bryant, who was beaten out Wednesday by Jordan Ott for Phoenix's head coaching position. Rick Pitino, Dan Hurley and John Calipari are all big names with ties to the New York area if Rose wanted to go the college route, and the retired Jay Wright coached current Knicks players Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges on national championship teams at Villanova. Brunson's father, Rick, was an assistant on Thibodeau's staff, if Rose wanted to promote the team captain's father. The Knicks had 12 different coaches between the time Van Gundy resigned early in the 2001-02 season and Thibodeau's hiring, and they won just one playoff series. Thibodeau won four in the last three seasons. McEnroe thought that earned Thibodeau another year, a common reaction to his firing. The Knicks decided otherwise, sending Rose into a search with much higher consequences than last time. Back then, on the heels of seven straight losing seasons, he just needed a coach who could win some games. Now he needs one who can deliver a championship. 'I mean, I'm not really in that situation, but the thing I can say is Thibs did a lot for New York," said Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein, who played in New York last season. 'He did a lot just building that culture over there. So I think I have a lot of respect for him.'
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why Americans should root for the Canadian team in the Stanley Cup Finals
Whether you're an actual Canadian person or simply one of the roughly 10% of Americans who, like me, consider themselves diehard ice hockey fans, this week no doubt finds you largely consumed — if not full-on bedridden — by a little something I like to call Stanley Cup Fever (or La Fièvre de la Coupe Stanley as it is known to my avid French Canadian readership). This year's contest is a rematch of last year's finals — with the Edmonton Oilers facing off against the defending champion Florida Panthers. There is no shortage of reasons I am rooting for the Oilers to whip the Panthers around like a bunch of rag dolls and assume their rightful place as Stanley Cup champions for the first time in 35 years — and also the first Canadian franchise to win the Cup in ... wait for it ... 32 years. I insist you root for the Oilers, as well. 'But Dave,' you ask, 'didn't the Oilers rebuff your offer to perform both the Canadian and American national anthems on electric guitar at an Oilers home game a couple of years ago after someone in the Oilers organization saw you doing that very thing at an Anaheim Ducks home game just a couple weeks prior — even though it was totally amazing, and you can ask anyone?' And to that I say yes, but I have moved on mostly, and so should you. (Also, thank you for your support; I'm nothing without the fans.) Anyway, the first reason I would like the Oilers to win this year is that they were my favorite NHL team as a kid. I grew up on the mean streets of suburban Cleveland, and, since we didn't have an NHL team of our own, I had no choice but to offer my allegiances elsewhere. The fact that the Oilers had cool blue and orange jerseys and a young Wayne Gretzky in their lineup — along with fellow future Hockey Hall of Famers Mark Messier, Paul Coffey and Jari Kurri — made it a no-brainer. My dad even took my brother and me to see the Oilers play the Penguins at the Civic Arena (the first major sports venue in the world with a retractable roof, for all you retractable roof enthusiasts) in Pittsburgh, and I got my program signed by all four of those guys outside the players entrance and everything. Gretzky still had a perm at the time, which made it all the more exciting. In fact, I would like to think it was my own youthful enthusiasm combined with that perm that helped lead the team to Stanley Cup victories in '84, '85, '87 and '88. (The Oilers won one more Cup in 1990, but Gretzky had already been traded to the Los Angeles Kings and had sadly adopted a more close-cropped, chemical-free look by then, foreshadowing his future as an online gambling shill, among other things.) Another reason I would like the Oilers to win this year is that — despite the fact that it is my dream for hockey to become the No. 1 sport in the United States and the presence of the sport in as many areas of the country as possible is crucial to that development — as a quarter-Canadian (my grandfather was from Clinton, Ontario) I struggle to accept the playing of professional hockey in regions where snow and ice don't naturally occur. I'm not a religious man, but I just think it goes against God. And the fact that the Panthers' logo looks like it was meant for a life insurance company or something makes the very concept of a South Florida Stanley Cup champion just unacceptable to me. But the biggest reason, with geopolitical importance, that I would like the Oilers to beat the Panthers is that we live in a time when the actual president of the United States — whose non-White House primary residence just so happens to be a resort/ex-wife cemetery in South Florida — suggests with disturbing regularity that Canada should become the 51st state. Aside from a handful of people I will (at the risk of sounding uncharitable) call Albertan lunatics, almost no one in Canada would ever entertain the prospect of being annexed by the neighbor to the South. In light of this, this year's Stanley Cup is bigger than just the game of hockey, sort of like how the U.S. men's team's facing off against the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics was essentially the Cold War on ice (Note to self: Write musical titled 'The Cold War on Ice.') I wouldn't go as far as to say that the Oilers' winning the sacred chalice of Canada's Game would send a message to Donald Trump, as I'm not convinced he is capable of receiving such things. But I do think it would upset him. And I really like that idea. 'The once great sport of hockey has been ruined by the foreigners of Edmonton, who are not very nice,' the president might say. 'Brave men on very cold water, ice they call it, with knives strapped to their feet ... not butter knives but more like steak knives that you would use to eat Trump Steaks ... not that you would even need a knife to eat a Trump steak, because they were very tender, very tender, almost like liquid meat, many people have said, including chef Guy Fieri, who is a great friend, but the nasty Canadian Oilers will never know because they, just like my son Eric, will never be invited to the White House, this much I can tell you.' 'Also hockey is canceled in Florida. Your tax dollars will not pay for Brad Marchand any longer. One more thing: If global warming is real, then why is there ice inside the arena?' Go, Canada. Go, Oilers. This article was originally published on
