Clutterbuck announced his retirement from the NHL on April 23 after 16 seasons as a forward with the Minnesota Wild and New York Islanders. He retired as the all-time hits leader and had 293 points (143 goals, 150 assists) in 1,064 regular-season games and 20 points (12 goals, eight assists) in 81 Stanley Cup Playoff games, which included back-to-back trips to the third round with the Islanders in 2020 and 2021.
Clutterbuck was selected by Minnesota in the third round (No. 72) of the 2006 NHL Draft. He was acquired by New York for forward Nino Niederreiter on June 30, 2013, and became a longtime member of the “Identity Line” for the Islanders alongside Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas.
Martin retired after last season but is remaining with New York as a special assistant to new general manager Mathieu Darche. He is second on the NHL’s all-time hits list behind Clutterbuck with 3,936. Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin is third (3,743) but has played 427 more games than Clutterbuck and 504 more than Martin.
“I miss some of the things around playing hockey — being in the room and hanging out kind of feeling you’re a part of a group that’s trying accomplish something,” Clutterbuck said. “But as far as like getting ready for 82 games a year and going out and playing the way that I was playing … I loved it, don’t get me wrong. I loved every minute of it. But there comes a point when you get removed from it for a year and you’re like, ‘Gosh, I’m not sure how I did that for that long.’ For me to go back to it, I’m not sure that’s a thing, so I don’t think about it that much.”
Clutterbuck said he started getting into golf as a teenager and steadily improved in his 20s. He routinely plays with former teammates and watched former NHL forward Joe Pavelski win the American Century Celebrity Championship on July 13 — Pavelski’s 41st birthday — and would love an opportunity to one day play in the tournament.
“That would be cool,” Clutterbuck said. “I’ve been working on trying to get in there. … I’m not looking to get on the PGA Tour, but even the amateur circuit around here is really good. There’s a lot of great players.
“It’s also good to come out here and see where you’re at. I think when you play with your friends you can go out and shoot a good score, and I’ve done that plenty of times. But being out here in this event, it’s different.”