Nick Barden of The Hockey News is reporting that free agent defenseman John Klingberg is close to deciding on which team he will sign with for the remainder of the season. Klingberg hasn’t played an NHL game since November 2023 and is attempting to come back after having hip resurfacing surgery. He is hoping to latch on with a contender for the rest of this season. His decision is expected in the next 2-3 days, and Klingberg’s former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, are reportedly still in the mix to sign the 32-year-old, as are a few other teams.
It was just a few years ago that Klingberg was considered a top-pairing offensive defenseman, however, those days are over, but if he is healthy Klingberg could certainly give a boost to a playoff team without costing an asset other than cap space. Through 633 NHL games, Klingberg has racked up 81 goals and 331 assists while playing with four different teams.
In other morning notes:
- The Seattle Kraken announced last night that forward Brandon Tanev would miss their game with an apparent illness. Tye Kartye took Tanev’s spot in the lineup Thursday against Winnipeg and played just 7:12. The 33-year-old Tanev last dressed on Tuesday against Pittsburgh and played 13:14 in that game. The Kraken are back in action tomorrow night against Los Angeles and it seems likely they will have an update on Tanev before the puck drop. The Toronto, Ontario native has eight goals and seven assists in 44 games this season.
- Colorado Avalanche forward Casey Mittelstadt has gone through a miserable slump this season and has now found himself demoted from the second-line center role and could find himself on the trade block soon (as per Avalanche reporter Adrian Deter). Mikko Rantanen took his spot in last night’s game against Edmonton, with Mittelstadt skating just 14:54 and playing on the third line. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar has reportedly become unhappy with Mittelstadt’s play, after the 26-year-old looked like a true second-line center to start the season, posting 13 points in his first ten games. However, since that hot start, Mittelstadt has just 13 points in his last 36 games.
If Casey Mittelstadt is available, there will be teams interested in him especially since he has term. Colorado originally considered him a C2 but he’s really more suited as a C3. But also sometimes a player just falls out of a team’s system of play for various reasons & a change in scenery could be necessary for him to get out of this apparent slump.
Mittelstadt hasn’t been with a team that has a higher standard to meet, so his Buffalo habits may still be with him. And, as @FeeltheThunder has stated, a change of scenery could be coming, and maybe not to his liking. There aren’t many contending teams that will accept a player being a passenger, instead of a committed participant.
Miller for Mittel
I don’t care at this point. If anyone watched JT Miller last night (14:00min TOI and benched for the 3rd period) they would trade him for a water bottle
C’mon, don’t be lazy, tell us how you work out the $2.25M salary difference!! LOL
And tell us how this works out if Landeskog comes back. Avs would hve to know for certain if Gabe comes back. Then how the hell do they re-sign Rantanen?
Mittelstadt & Oskar Olausson to NYI for Nelson…