Unrestricted free agent defenseman John Klingberg will resume skating shortly after the vacation break in hopes of constant his NHL profession, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet experiences Saturday.
Now 32, Klingberg has been out of fee for over a 12 months after present process season-ending hip surgical procedure whereas with the Maple Leafs in early December 2023. The 2015 All-Rookie Group member final performed practically a month prior on Nov. 11.
The Swedish native was a dominant offensive pressure in his early days, ending within the high six in Norris Trophy voting twice within the first 4 seasons of his profession with the Stars. From his NHL debut in 2014-15 till the COVID-19 pandemic truncated the 2019-20 season, Klingberg posted 291 factors in 425 video games for the Stars, rating tenth amongst defenders league-wide. His 0.68 factors per recreation have been seventh amongst these with over 100 video games.
In that 2019-20 season, although, the ever-present defensive cracks in Klingberg’s recreation started to frame on outweighing the offensive advantages. That 12 months noticed him lose the title of the staff’s de facto No. 1 possibility on the blue line to up-and-comer Miro Heiskanen, and whereas he nonetheless contributed 32 factors in 58 video games, he logged a -10 score – reaching the negatives for the primary time in his profession. He added 21 factors in 26 postseason video games as Dallas marched to the Stanley Cup Closing however posted a -5 score that was second-worst amongst Stars blue-liners.
It was extra of the identical for Klingberg over the subsequent couple of seasons as his even-strength ice time and on-ice purpose differential continued to say no. He was nonetheless a top-four risk offensively, logging 47 factors in 74 video games within the 2021-22 marketing campaign, however nonetheless hit free company the next summer time and didn’t garner a lot curiosity in a long-term deal.
That led to a one-year, $7M prove-it take care of the rebuilding Geese after he had been unsigned for weeks. His stint in Anaheim was short-lived and unremarkable. He posted 24 factors and a -28 score in 50 video games on a 2022-23 Anaheim staff that allowed an unbelievable 39.1 photographs per recreation. He was dealt to the Wild on the commerce deadline, the place he completed the 12 months with 9 factors in 17 video games and was scratched twice of their six-game loss to the Stars within the first spherical.
That relatively uninspiring efficiency led to a different one-year pact on the open market the next summer time—this time, a $4.15M dedication from the Maple Leafs. His stint in Toronto was additionally fairly short-lived. He posted 5 assists in 14 video games whereas quarterbacking their high power-play unit earlier than the hip subject, which had been nagging because the finish of the prior season, pressured him out of the lineup for the remainder of the season.
If he does handle to land one other NHL supply, it actually gained’t be within the top-four, 20-minute common ice time position he’s grown accustomed to. As an already-declining veteran coming off main surgical procedure, Klingberg touchdown far more than the league minimal on a one-year deal for the remainder of 2024-25 can be shocking. The best shot would seemingly issue right into a third-pairing position at even energy with second-unit power-play utilization.
