According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, a few more teams have entered the growing market for defenseman John Klingberg. Dreger mentions that the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars have inquired about Klingberg’s market, but he believes the Edmonton Oilers remain the favorites to sign him.
If Klingberg eventually signs with the Avalanche or Stars it’ll likely be with the latter. Dallas is weak on the right-hand side of their defensive core and while it’s difficult to call Klingberg an upgrade on their options given his lengthy absence, he has a positive history with the Stars. In his eight years in Dallas from 2015 to 2022, Klingberg scored 71 goals and 303 assists in 552 games and was an effective powerplay quarterback for many of those years.
Colorado could use some help on the right side with Josh Manson dealing with a recurring injury but Klingberg doesn’t project as the right option for the Avalanche. The team already gets plenty of offense from their top defensive pairing and Klingberg was never a solid shutdown threat even during his prime years with the Stars. The Avalanche will surely inquire about nearly any defenseman making close to or at the league minimum salary but it would be surprising to see them ultimately sign Klingberg.
Other Central notes:
- Despite his public desire to sign an extension with the Chicago Blackhawks, veteran forward Taylor Hall is readying for a breakup. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports Hall believes he’ll be traded before the deadline saying, “I came into this year wanting to be a Blackhawk for years to come. I don’t know if that’s going to be the case anymore.” It won’t be the first time the former MVP has been involved in a mid-season swap having been acquired in the 2020-21 season by the Boston Bruins and the 2018-19 season by the Arizona Coyotes.
- Utah Hockey Club forward Jack McBain will have more than just a minor penalty for high-sticking in last night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced they’ve fined McBain $4,166.67, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for high-sticking Brendan Gallagher. This is the first time the DoPS has fined McBain in his brief four-year career.
a Klinger reunion would be cool. if he goes to EDM though… I’ll have to wish negatively upon his health.
yikes
still bitter from dallas choking on it last year…
Hall to Edm if they can find a taker for Jeff Skinner
Red Wings, please get in on this.
no longer worth the effort. injuries have sapped him
A giveaway artist who takes too many hits and is injured more often than not as a result.
The only time he was useful dates back to Dallas under Lindy Ruff.
Hall may have wanted to stay here but he hasn’t done anywhere near enough to warrant an extension. He was brought here to play with Bedard and he was injured the first year and hasn’t even come close to being able to advance Bedards game. He is good enough to be traded to a contender and help on a late season Cup run and he should be happy with that. Hey if he wants to come back next year with whoever ends up being the Head Coach and takes less money, Maybe he comes back. But he’s not worth 6 million a year. He might be the Hawks best trade chip. Hall and Murphy might bring back the best returns. If the Cap rises as much as it’s supposed to the Hawks should offload as much salary as they can and chase a guy like Marner to play with Bedard. They’re not going to find a guy like that in this years draft. At least not for a few years anyway.
Klingberg might not be the best option for a team who actually *needs* a dman. Those teams would be better off trading for a low maintenance veteran. Klingberg seems more like a joker option who might work out if a very desperate team happens to shelter him, and if he actually recovered from his injuries. From what I can see, his numbers have been below-replacement level even in his two full seasons before his injury break.
Klingberg is living off his reputation from six years ago. His only NHL skill now is PP quarterbacking. He’s a liability everywhere else. He’s a poor skater and defender.