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Connor Clifton

#75 · Defence · Boston Bruins

Born Apr 28, 1995 in Matawan, New Jersey, USA (age 31) · 6'0", 200 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 133rd overall in 2013 by PHX (round 5)

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2020-21. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Jacob Larsson ANA · 7 P in 46 GP Ben Chiarot MTL · 7 P in 41 GP Ian Mitchell CHI · 7 P in 39 GP Ben Harpur NSH · 7 P in 34 GP Conor Timmins COL · 7 P in 31 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

051015202018-19: 1 points118-192019-20: 2 points219-202020-21: 7 points720-212021-22: 10 points1021-222022-23: 23 points2322-232023-24: 18 points1823-242024-25: 16 points1624-252025-26: 6 points625-262026-27: 1 points126-27

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2018-19 BOS 19 0 1 1 5 15 22 40 0.05 $725K
2019-20 BOS 31 2 0 2 4 12 20 90 0.06 $725K
2020-21 BOS 44 1 6 7 10 38 48 108 0.16 $1M
2021-22 BOS 60 2 8 10 -2 32 80 156 0.17 $1M
2022-23 BOS 78 5 18 23 20 60 93 208 0.29 $1M
2023-24 BUF 79 4 14 18 12 88 77 204 0.23 $3.333M
2024-25 BUF 73 1 15 16 -6 45 63 208 0.22 $3.333M
2025-26 PIT 50 2 4 6 5 53 35 180 0.12 $3.333M
2026-27 BOS 6 0 1 1 0 4 6 13 0.17 $2.25M
9 seasons Career 440 17 67 84 48 347 444 1207 0.19

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2018-19 BOS 18 2 3 5 2 16 11 32 0.28
2019-20 BOS 7 1 2 3 0 4 10 28 0.43
2020-21 BOS 10 0 0 0 0 2 10 27 0.00
2021-22 BOS 7 1 1 2 1 8 10 31 0.29
2022-23 BOS 3 0 0 0 -4 2 5 7 0.00
2025-26 PIT 3 0 0 0 -3 0 1 8 0.00
6 seasons Playoffs 48 4 6 10 -4 32 47 133 0.21

2020-21 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
44 1 6 7 10 38 48 108 0.16 2.1 18:13

Contract

$1MCap hitends in 2023, then UFA
$143KCap dollars per point7 points in 44 games
$2.917MCap dollars per goal above replacement0.3 goals above replacement
$1MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$48KValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 633 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Boston Bruins on Jul 1, 2019, as an extension of the contract he was on: 3 years and $3M, beginning in 2020-21. It runs through 2022-23, with 2 seasons left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2020-21 $1M $900K $100K $1M
2021-22 $1M $900K $100K $1M
2022-23 $1M $900K $100K $1M

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Jul 1, 2026 Boston Bruins New contract 2026-27 to 2027-28 2 $4.5M $2.25M
Jul 1, 2023 Buffalo Sabres New contract 2023-24 to 2025-26 3 $10M $3.333M
Jul 1, 2019 Boston Bruins Extension 2020-21 to 2022-23 3 $3M $1M
May 3, 2018 Boston Bruins Entry-level 2018-19 to 2019-20 2 $1.47M $725K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2020-21 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2020-21 playoff analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+1.2Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
+0.2Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+0.6Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence-0.8Even-strength defence+0.9Power play0.0Penalty kill+0.2Penalties+0.4

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. A playoff run is too short to rank anyone on. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-0.500.511.522.52018-192020-212022-232024-252026-27Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

53.2Corsi for %150 attempts for, 132 against
-2.3CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
56.9Expected goals for %6.4 expected for, 4.8 against
-0.1xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
54.6Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
50.0Goals for %6 for, 6 against
100.1PDO8.2% shooting + 91.9% saves
31Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 147 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Mike Reilly · Connor Clifton939:0455.646.02-2
Connor Clifton · Jeremy Lauzon635:0751.961.82-3
Kevan Miller · Connor Clifton328:5845.740.12-0
Jarred Tinordi · Connor Clifton427:5457.960.60-0

The pairs he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's pairs that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

0Goalsnot counting empty-netters
0.7Expected goalsfrom 18 unblocked attempts
-0.7Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.24 expected goals per 60 minutes76th
Shot quality 4.0% chance per attempt86th
Finishing -0.7 goals above expected20thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 59 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest in these playoffs.

00.20.40.60.81Expected 0.7Goals 0

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took in these playoffs, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
May 11, 2021 @ WSH L 1-2 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 22:56
May 4, 2021 @ NJD L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 17:13
May 3, 2021 @ NJD W 3-0 0 0 0 1 5 2 1 16:22
May 1, 2021 vs BUF W 6-2 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 17:02
Apr 29, 2021 vs BUF W 5-2 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 16:27
Apr 27, 2021 @ PIT W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 14:57
Apr 22, 2021 @ BUF W 5-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 18:20
Apr 20, 2021 @ BUF W 2-0 1 0 1 2 0 2 3 21:09
Apr 18, 2021 vs WSH W 6-3 0 1 1 2 8 1 2 17:48
Apr 16, 2021 vs NYI W 3-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 19:59
Apr 15, 2021 vs NYI W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 4 4 20:20
Apr 13, 2021 vs BUF W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 16:09
Apr 11, 2021 vs WSH L 1-8 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 19:23
Apr 10, 2021 @ PHI L 2-3 0 0 0 -2 2 1 2 15:33
Apr 8, 2021 @ WSH W 4-2 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 18:19
Apr 6, 2021 @ PHI W 4-2 0 1 1 1 0 1 3 19:46
Apr 5, 2021 vs PHI L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 17:53
Apr 3, 2021 vs PIT W 7-5 0 0 0 -2 0 1 2 15:03
Apr 1, 2021 vs PIT L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 20:26
Mar 30, 2021 vs NJD W 5-4 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 14:17
Mar 28, 2021 vs NJD L 0-1 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 15:58
Mar 27, 2021 vs BUF W 3-2 0 0 0 0 2 1 4 17:11
Mar 25, 2021 vs NYI L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 0 1 1 18:39
Mar 18, 2021 @ BUF W 4-1 0 1 1 1 0 0 3 16:04
Mar 16, 2021 @ PIT W 2-1 0 0 0 -1 0 1 3 18:59
Mar 15, 2021 @ PIT L 1-4 0 0 0 0 4 2 4 14:17
Mar 13, 2021 vs NYR L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 3 21:08
Mar 11, 2021 vs NYR W 4-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 21:55
Mar 9, 2021 @ NYI L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 21:46
Mar 7, 2021 vs NJD L 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 20:27
Mar 5, 2021 vs WSH W 5-1 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 25:38
Mar 3, 2021 vs WSH L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 16:48
Feb 28, 2021 @ NYR W 4-1 0 1 1 0 0 2 3 20:56
Feb 26, 2021 @ NYR L 2-6 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 17:27
Feb 25, 2021 @ NYI L 2-7 0 0 0 -2 0 0 1 16:14
Feb 21, 2021 vs PHI W 7-3 0 2 2 3 0 1 1 23:06
Feb 18, 2021 vs NJD L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 16:11
Feb 12, 2021 @ NYR W 1-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 16:37
Feb 5, 2021 @ PHI W 2-1 0 0 0 0 5 2 3 15:59
Feb 3, 2021 @ PHI W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 20:14
Feb 1, 2021 @ WSH W 5-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 3 15:14
Jan 30, 2021 @ WSH L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 16:56
Jan 26, 2021 vs PIT W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 3 3 16:14
Jan 23, 2021 vs PHI W 6-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 18:12