Photo courtesy of NHL.com

Fantasy Summary

A complementary defender that won’t provide a whole lot of offense.


Observations

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March 2020 – Claesson played a minor role in New Jersey as a bottom-pairing defenseman due to injuries. He expects to play in Binghamton if the AHL season resumes.  Chris Wassel 

February 2020 – Claesson has been traded from Carolina to New Jersey.  Jokke Nevalainen

June 2019 – Claesson did not get a qualifying offer from the Rangers which means he becomes an unrestricted free agent.  Jokke Nevalainen

July 2018 – The New York Rangers have signed Claesson to a one-year contract.  Jokke Nevalainen

June 2017 – Claesson looks to have taken the next step in 2016-17 and put the AHL behind him for good suiting up for 33 regular season games with unexpectedly impressive offensive results to the tune of three goals and eight assists. Initially being used relatively sparingly through the first 25 games playing about 10-12 minutes per game, Claesson saw a big uptick in ice time in the final eight games playing closer to 20 minutes a night. In the playoffs he drew into 14 of the teams 19 playoff games chipping in three assists and proving he can more than hold his own on the biggest stage in a high pressure situation. With the Senators likely to lose a defenseman to Vegas in the expansion draft, maybe even Claesson himself, he’s likely in line for full-time NHL duty come the fall. Brad Phillips

October 2016 – Claesson has been placed on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to the AHL. He’s proven to be a capable minor-league defenseman and has suited up for 16 career NHL games, finding the scoresheet twice with a pair of assists. At this point, though, his fantasy value is nil. Brad Phillips

March 2015 – Claesson is an NHL ready defenseman who should be next in line for the Senators if a player such as Patrick Wiercioch, Jared Cowen or Chris Phillips were to go down with an injury.  As a stable, stay at home defenseman, Claesson will not wow you with offensive ability but he is technically sound and does a good job moving the puck to more offensive teammates.  Although he does not shoot often, Claesson does have a decent shot and is capable of scoring goals from the point when his shot gets through. Most of his point numbers are going to come via assists, initiating the play from the defensive zone.  The main thing standing in the way of the Swedish defenseman becoming an NHL blueliner is the depth that the Senators have on the back-end.  His NHL future seems to be a second or third pairing defenseman who spends the majority of his time on the ice at even strength or on the penalty kill. Likely, Claesson will be paired with a more offensive partner and will be looked upon to be a rock defensively with the ability to make a good first pass out of the zone.  He is not an overly physical player, but does not shy away from contact and has dropped the gloves when warranted in the AHL.  In a fantasy sense, Claesson will chip in with the occasional assist, a good plus minus rating, some penalty minutes and decent hits and blocked shot numbers. Kevin LeBlanc

Attributes
Fantasy Upside 3.0
NHL Certainty 3.5
Country SWE
Position D
Roster Type Minors
Shoot/Glove Left
Date of Birth November 24, 1992
Height 6‘0”
Weight 201 lbs
Drafted 2011 Round 5; Overall: 126

Stats

 Season Team League GP G A TP PIM      Playoffs GP G A TP PIM 
 2007-2008 Hammarby IF J18J18 Region15 1 23 29|        
  Hammarby IF J20J20 Region- - -- -|        
  Hammarby IFHockeyAllsvenskan2 0 00 2|        
  Sweden U16 (all)International-Jr5 0 44 0|        
 2008-2009 StockholmTV-Pucken8 3 36 0|        
  Djurgårdens IF J18J18 Region18 8 614 2|        
  Djurgårdens IF J18J18 Nationell10 1 23 2|        
  Djurgårdens IF J20J20 Nationell7 0 00 0|        
  Sweden U17 (all)International-Jr6 0 11 2|        
 2009-2010 Djurgårdens IF J18J18 Nationell3 1 12 0|Playoffs5 0 33
  Djurgårdens IF J20J20 Nationell22 0 44 18|        
  Sweden U18WJC-186 0 11 0|        
  Sweden U18 (all)International-Jr12 1 12 4|        
 2010-2011 Djurgårdens IF J20J20 Nationell18 2 35 6|Playoffs5 0 11
  Djurgårdens IFSHL35 2 02 6|Playoffs7 0 11
  Djurgårdens IFET5 0 11 25|        
  Sweden U19 (all)International-Jr7 0 11 29|        
  Sweden U20 (all)International-Jr3 0 00 2|        
 2011-2012 Djurgårdens IF J20J20 Nationell1 0 00 2|        
  Djurgårdens IFSHL47 1 67 8|Kvalserien SHL10 1 12
  Djurgårdens IFET5 1 01 0|        
  Sweden U20WJC-206 0 00 0|        
  Sweden U20 (all)International-Jr14 1 01 27|        
 2012-2013 Binghamton SenatorsAHL70 3 811 51|Playoffs3 0 11
 2013-2014 Binghamton SenatorsAHL75 3 2629 39|Playoffs4 0 00
 2014-2015 Binghamton SenatorsAHL76 4 1519 42|        
 2015-2016 Ottawa SenatorsNHL16 0 22 2|        
  Binghamton SenatorsAHL55 3 710 50|        
 2016-2017 Ottawa SenatorsNHL33 3 811 4|Playoffs14 0 33
  Binghamton SenatorsAHL9 0 11 2|        
 2017-2018 Ottawa SenatorsNHL64 1 67 35|        
 2018-2019 New York RangersNHL37 2 46 9|        
 2019-2020 Charlotte CheckersAHL47 3 1619 18|        
  New Jersey DevilsNHL5 1 12 0|        
 2020-2021 San Jose SharksNHL4 0 00 0|        
  Tampa Bay LightningNHL2 0 00 12|        
 2021-2022 Tampa Bay LightningNHL9 0 00 0|        
  Syracuse CrunchAHL47 0 1414 20|Playoffs5 0 00
 2022-2023 CSKA MoskvaKHL60 4 1014 27|Playoffs27 1 67
 2023-2024 CSKA MoskvaKHL61 2 810 18|Playoffs5 0 00
 2024-2025 CSKA MoskvaKHL20 0 33 10|        

Highlights