2-time Stanley Cup champion with Kings announces retirement

Clifford spent the 2024-25 season with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. According to MayorNHL on X, formerly Twitter, he will join the Maple Leafs in a player development role. He played the final 25 games of his NHL career with the Leafs and is an Ontario native.

Clifford is most known for his time with the Kings, where he won two Stanley Cups. He was there for ten seasons as a fourth-line forward, never scoring more than 11 goals. But as an enforcer and strong locker room presence, he was an important part of their second championship run.

In the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he played all 24 games, scoring just seven points and racking up 39 penalty minutes. He brought his game into the postseason that year and helped Los Angeles bully their way to a Stanley Cup.

During the 2019-20 season, the Kings traded Clifford to the Maple Leafs. When he hit free agency that summer, he landed with the St Louis Blues. They still had the 2019 Stanley Cup core and were hoping Clifford could bring some energy to their bottom six. After 52 games in two seasons, they traded him back to Toronto during the 2021-22 season. He finished off that season and played two more games in 2022-23 in Toronto.

Clifford will not be in the Hall of Fame or have his number retired. But his contributions to two Stanley Cup winners will be remembered in LA for years to come.