Campbell, Clifford traded to Maple Leafs by Kings

TORONTO --
Jack Campbell
and
Kyle Clifford
were traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs by the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday for Trevor Moore, a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Campbell, a 28-year-old goalie, is 8-10-2 with a 2.85 goals-against average and .900 save percentage for Los Angeles this season as the backup to Jonathan Quick. Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen has a neck injury, and backup Michael Hutchinson is 4-9-1 after a 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
"What a great team they have and even playing them earlier in the year, it's just fun to watch," Campbell said Thursday. "Just watching the team, they are obviously electric and super fast and they just have great players top to bottom and I'm just going to try and do whatever I can to contribute."
Campbel will make his first start with the Maple Leafs against the the Anaheim Ducks at Scotiabank Arena on Friday (7 p.m. ET; SNO, PRIME, NHL.TV). Andersen practiced with goaltending coach Steve Briere on Thursday but Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas had no update on his status and said it is unlikely Andersen will play Friday.
"It was a position (goalie) where we are always worried about the depth," Dubas said. "You fear it with every key player on your team, especially with the goalie, if the No. 1 guy goes down, how does your team respond? You do always have that fear if something happens to him. Unfortunately Andersen has] got the injury and that led us to move quickly down this path."
***[RELATED: [2019-20 NHL Trade Tracker]*
Hutchinson is 1-4-0 since winning three starts in a row from Dec. 21-Jan. 4 and has a 3.66 GAA and an .886 save percentage this season. Andersen is 24-9-6 with a 2.87 GAA and .910 save percentage in 42 starts. He was injured in the first period of a 5-3 loss at the Florida Panthers on Monday, a game Hutchinson lost after Toronto led 3-1 in the third period. Kasimir Kaskisuo, a 26-year-old who has played one NHL game, was Hutchinson's backup Wednesday.
Campbell is 20-25-5 with a 2.58 GAA and .916 save percentage in 57 games (49 starts) with the Kings and one start with the Dallas Stars, who selected him with the No. 11 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft.
"I'm just ready to have some fun with it and work hard and try to play the best I can for this team and city," Campbell said.

Clifford, a 29-year-old forward, has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) and 45 penalty minutes in 53 games this season, and 129 points (60 goals, 69 assists) and 819 penalty minutes in 660 games with the Kings. The Ontario native won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014 with Los Angeles. He will also make his Maple Leafs debut on Friday.
"They didn't bring me in to outpace Auston Matthews in goals," Clifford said. "I know what I am and I know who I am and I know there's a lot of skill guys in here and there's a lot of guys who play hard too, so I definitely want to add that element. ... It's no secret, I've got a real love for this team. It's a childhood dream just to be able to put that jersey on. I'm excited about the opportunity ... I played in L.A. for a decade and built a lot of relationships so it's tough to move on from that. It was bit unexpected but now that I've had an opportunity to let things settle, I'm really excited to be here."
Dubas said Clifford, who he represented when he worked as a player agent for Uptown Sports, will bring toughness and competitiveness to Toronto's lineup. He can become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
"He has some elements we don't have in abundance," Dubas said. "You don't have to hide him; he's played a good portion of minutes for L.A. when they've won and even now with their group. We feel like he's a very competitive player but is also able to drive the play down to the offensive end of the rink. He'll be able to play in the bottom end of our lineup. His character, work ethic in the gym and in practice, I think he'll make a big impact here knowing his personality."
Moore, a 24-year-old forward, has five points (three goals, two assists) in 23 games with the Maple Leafs this season. The California native had eight points (two goals, six assists) in 25 games as a rookie last season.
Los Angeles receives the Columbus Blue Jackets' third-round pick in 2020, which Toronto acquired from the Ottawa Senators, and a conditional third-round pick in 2021. The Kings will retain 50 percent of Clifford's salary.
"If it had been available to do (earlier), we would have done it then," Dubas said of the trade. "Teams take their time, we're at the time of year where more things tend to get done as the deadline creeps up (Feb. 24). We had been looking at it and investigating and if we could have improved the team earlier we would much rather do that. When you're giving up assets and paying for something you'd want to be able to use it longer."