Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

John Klingberg

Morning Notes: Klingberg, Tanev, Mittelstadt

at CDT | by 5 Comments

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.

Central Notes: Klingberg, Hall, McBain

at CDT | by 10 Comments

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.

Multiple Canadian Teams Interested In John Klingberg

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Maple Leafs, Oilers and Senators are among the five to seven teams that have expressed interest in signing unrestricted free agent defenseman John Klingberg, Darren Dreger of TSN reports Tuesday.

Klingberg, 32, has not played since hip resurfacing surgery capped his 2023-24 campaign with Toronto at 14 games. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported last month that Klingberg was set to resume skating in Toronto after the holiday break and hoped to sign with a team for the rest of the season once he got back up to speed.

According to Dreger, Klingberg’s rehabilitation over the past couple of weeks has gone as planned. He still has a ways to go and needs another couple of weeks before he’ll be medically cleared to sign anywhere, but all signs point to him resuming his NHL career and doing so north of the border. The Canucks have also expressed interest in signing Klingberg but have done so to a lesser degree than their Canadian rivals, Dreger added.

Once one of the top power-play weapons in the league, the past few seasons have been tough on Klingberg. After operating at least at a 45-point pace in each of his first eight NHL seasons with the Stars, Klingberg wanted more money than Dallas was willing to offer him due to the emergence of Miro Heiskanen and he tested the open market in 2022 after completing a team-friendly seven-year, $29.75MM deal in Texas.

Klingberg severely misgauged his market, though. After sitting unsigned for weeks and changing his agents, he came to terms with the Ducks on a one-year deal worth $7MM.

Since doing so, Klingberg hasn’t been a reliable top-four option. He did average nearly 21 minutes per game in Anaheim, recording 24 points in 50 games before he was dealt to the Wild at the trade deadline, but did so on one of the worst defensive teams in league history. His even-strength minutes were slashed, although the Maple Leafs bet on him rebounding into at least a fringe top-four option when they signed him to another one-year deal the following summer.

Klingberg didn’t have a chance to prove very much, recording five assists and a minus-seven rating in 14 games before his hip issues shut him down for the remainder of the campaign. He underwent his resurfacing surgery in early December, and now over 13 months later, he’s back on the ice.

The Oilers have the biggest need for Klingberg’s services out of the three, and Edmonton is also where Klingberg’s stock stands to benefit the most. He would presumably remain relegated to a bottom-pairing role at even strength, but he would be an upgrade on their second power-play unit, at least offensively, over current point men Mattias Ekholm and Darnell Nurse. The chance to even sniff first power-play minutes and join a unit that’s clicking at nearly 25% would also boost his point totals and his market value heading into free agency again this summer, assuming he can stay healthy.

John Klingberg Hoping To Resume NHL Career

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Unrestricted free agent defenseman John Klingberg will resume skating shortly after the holiday break in hopes of continuing his NHL career, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Saturday.

Now 32, Klingberg has been out of commission for over a year after undergoing season-ending hip surgery while with the Maple Leafs in early December 2023. The 2015 All-Rookie Team member last played nearly a month prior on Nov. 11.

The Swedish native was a dominant offensive force in his early days, finishing in the top six in Norris Trophy voting twice in the first four seasons of his career with the Stars. From his NHL debut in 2014-15 until the COVID-19 pandemic truncated the 2019-20 season, Klingberg posted 291 points in 425 games for the Stars, ranking 10th among defenders league-wide. His 0.68 points per game were seventh among those with over 100 games.

In that 2019-20 season, though, the ever-present defensive cracks in Klingberg’s game began to border on outweighing the offensive benefits. That year saw him lose the title of the team’s de facto No. 1 option on the blue line to up-and-comer Miro Heiskanen, and while he still contributed 32 points in 58 games, he logged a -10 rating – reaching the negatives for the first time in his career. He added 21 points in 26 postseason games as Dallas marched to the Stanley Cup Final but posted a -5 rating that was second-worst among Stars blue-liners.

It was more of the same for Klingberg over the next couple of seasons as his even-strength ice time and on-ice goal differential continued to decline. He was still a top-four threat offensively, logging 47 points in 74 games in the 2021-22 campaign, but nonetheless hit free agency the following summer and didn’t garner much interest in a long-term deal.

That led to a one-year, $7MM prove-it deal with the rebuilding Ducks after he had been unsigned for weeks. His stint in Anaheim was short-lived and unremarkable. He posted 24 points and a -28 rating in 50 games on a 2022-23 Anaheim team that allowed an incredible 39.1 shots per game. He was dealt to the Wild at the trade deadline, where he finished the year with nine points in 17 games and was scratched twice in their six-game loss to the Stars in the First Round.

That rather uninspiring performance led to another one-year pact on the open market the following summer—this time, a $4.15MM commitment from the Maple Leafs. His stint in Toronto was also quite short-lived. He posted five assists in 14 games while quarterbacking their top power-play unit before the hip issue, which had been nagging since the end of the prior season, forced him out of the lineup for the rest of the season.

If he does manage to land another NHL offer, it certainly won’t be in the top-four, 20-minute average ice time role he’s grown accustomed to. As an already-declining veteran coming off major surgery, Klingberg landing much more than the league minimum on a one-year deal for the rest of 2024-25 would be surprising. The right shot would likely factor into a third-pairing role at even strength with second-unit power-play usage.

Snapshots: Mississauga, Atlanta, Klingberg

at CDT | by 11 Comments

The OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads are likely playing their final season in the Toronto suburb. The team’s ownership is “in the process of conducting the necessary due diligence” to move the franchise to Brampton beginning with the 2024-25 season, a media release states Wednesday.

Brampton last hosted OHL hockey in the 2012-13 season, after which the Battalion franchise relocated to North Bay, Ontario. Professionally, the Brampton Beast also played in the CHL for the 2013-14 campaign and in the ECHL from 2014 to 2020.

The Steelheads franchise began play in the 1997-98 season as the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors, moving to the suburbs after 10 years in downtown Toronto. The team rebranded as the Steelheads in 2012 after being purchased from former Senators owner Eugene Melnyk.

Only four miles separates the current home of the Steelheads and the presumptive home of the team in Brampton, the Powerade Center, which the Battalion last played in prior to relocation. The Steelheads only boast one NHL-affiliated prospect at the moment, Stars 2023 sixth-round pick Angus MacDonell. Notable NHLers to suit up for the Steelheads in the past decade include Stars players Thomas Harley and Mason Marchment, Oilers center Ryan McLeod, and Flyers winger Owen Tippett.

Some other items of note from around the hockey sphere:

  • Sticking with relocation/expansion talk, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports the proposed area development in Forsyth County outside of Atlanta is nearing government approval. Previous reports have indicated county funding for the project is contingent on NHL expansion intent. One week ago, Salt Lake City-based Smith Entertainment Group also requested the initiation of a formal expansion process by the league.
  • Maple Leafs defenseman John Klingberg intends to resume his NHL career after recovering from season-ending hip surgery, TSN’s Chris Johnston said Tuesday. The 31-year-old signed a one-year, $4.15MM contract with Toronto in free agency but played only 14 games before being shut down for the remainder of the season. Johnston reports the specific procedure that Klingberg underwent is similar to the surgery Red Wings forward Patrick Kane had last summer, which carried a hefty recovery timeframe but did not impact his ability to return to NHL play. It’s unclear if Toronto will have interest in retaining Klingberg at a reduced price next summer should he be able to continue playing.

John Klingberg To Have Hip Surgery, Done For The Season

at CDT | by 12 Comments

The Hockey News’ David Alter shared an update from Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving, who said that John Klingberg is set to undergo hip surgery at the end of the month. This surgery will end the 31-year-old defenseman’s season.

Klingberg was moved to long-term injured reserve at the end of November without disclosing the injury at the time. He will now miss the remainder of his first season with the Maple Leafs, after signing a one-year, $4.2MM contract with the team on July 1st. He appeared in 14 games with Toronto this season, recording five assists, eight penalty minutes, and a -7.

The veteran Klingberg was originally drafted in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL Draft by the Dallas Stars. He continued playing in Sweden and Finland’s top leagues until the end of the 2013-14 season when he joined the AHL’s Texas Stars – earning his NHL debut in 2014-15. Klingberg would go on to play in eight seasons with Dallas, totaling 552 games and 374 points with the club. Klingberg signed a one-year, $7MM contract with the Anaheim Ducks ahead of the 2022-23 season. He played 50 games and scored 24 points in Anaheim, before being traded to the Minnesota Wild at that year’s trade deadline.

After 17 games in Minnesota, Klingberg joined his fourth NHL club this summer. He’s totaled 412 points, 255 penalty minutes, and a -40 in 633 career NHL games. Klingberg ranks 24th in games played amongst the 2010 NHL Draft class. He also ranks second in career scoring among defenders in that class, behind Cam Fowler’s 426 career points.

Atlantic Notes: Klingberg, Sabres Injuries, Komarov

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Last weekend, it was suggested that the Maple Leafs would have further clarity on John Klingberg’s undisclosed injury.  Namely, they need to know if he will need potential season-ending surgery.  Speaking with reporters today including Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link), head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that they have not received an update on the veteran’s status just yet.  Klingberg’s $4.15MM cap hit is currently on LTIR, giving Toronto short-term cap flexibility.  However, they can’t realistically use that money to go out and acquire a replacement for him if they know he’s going to be back before the end of the season; they’d have to be cap-compliant in order to activate him.  Accordingly, until they know more about Klingberg, GM Brad Treliving will be quite limited in what he can try to do to add to an injury-riddled back end.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Earlier this week, Sabres GM Kevyn Adams provided injury updates to Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald on several injured Buffalo forwards. Tage Thompson is progressing well from his hand injury and the team hopes that he’ll be on the shorter end of the timeline for a recovery period that’s supposed to be less than two months; he has been out since November 14th.  Jack Quinn, meanwhile, is on track to return sometime around January 1st as he works his way back from a torn Achilles tendon from the offseason.  As for Zemgus Girgensons, who has missed the last week with a lower-body injury, is listed as week-to-week.
  • Still with Buffalo, Sabres prospect Vsevolod Komarov is expected to be traded in the QMJHL to Drummondville in the coming days, reports Journal Express’ Jonathan Habashi. The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2022 and earned his entry-level contract back in May following a good showing with Quebec in their Memorial Cup run.  Now with the Remparts rebuilding, it appears that Komarov will get a chance to catch on with another contender.  Through 21 games this season, he has two goals and 14 assists.

Atlantic Notes: Klingberg, McMann, Benoit, Korpisalo, Samuelsson

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Maple Leafs defenseman John Klingberg will meet with a doctor in New York this week to determine whether surgery is required to correct his nagging hip injury, GM Brad Treliving informed the media Monday afternoon (via David Alter of Sports Illustrated/The Hockey News).

Klingberg, 31, has missed five out of the last six games with the injury and is currently on long-term injured reserve retroactive to November 11. The soonest he can return to the lineup is December 12 against the Rangers. However, all indications point to a more prolonged absence regardless of the clarity gleaned from his appointment this week. While Klingberg has reportedly been battling various hip issues for multiple seasons, Treliving confirmed Klingberg sustained a specific injury on October 19 versus the Panthers, keeping him out of the lineup. Klingberg did not miss any games immediately after sustaining the injury.

A free-agent signing by the Maple Leafs last summer, Klingberg’s presence in the lineup quickly deteriorated after a strong showing in the team’s season opener against the Canadiens. After notching two points, a +1 rating, and over 24 minutes of ice time in his Toronto debut, his defensive game again lapsed significantly. It caused head coach Sheldon Keefe to reduce his ice time gradually gradually. He has five assists through 14 games this season, and his 0.35 points per game mark is by far the worst of his NHL career. He is averaging under 21 minutes per game for a second straight season after skating over that mark in eight consecutive seasons to begin his career.

Other snapshots from the Atlantic Division:

  • Sticking with Toronto, depth forward Bobby McMann and defenseman Simon Benoit took line rushes with the Maple Leafs at practice today, Alter reports. This suggests both players will be recalled from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies before tomorrow’s game against the Panthers. In recent days, McMann and Benoit have repeatedly been ferried between leagues to extend their waiver-exempt period. Both players were placed on waivers before the start of the season, allowing the Maple Leafs to assign each player to the AHL freely until each spends 30 days on the NHL roster or plays ten games. While McMann took reps as a healthy scratch in practice today, Benoit skated on the third pairing alongside Conor Timmins and could re-enter the lineup. The 25-year-old has played six games this season, recording a +2 rating, five shots on goal, and a strong Corsi share of 57.4% at even strength while averaging 13:13 per game.
  • Senators goalie Joonas Korpisalo will be an option in goal against the Panthers tonight, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays. After making 37 saves on 41 shots in the Senators’ first Global Series game against the Red Wings on November 16, Korpisalo sat out the second overseas contest against the Wild as well as last Friday’s game against the Islanders with a minor undisclosed ailment which the team described as general soreness. This was an expected development after the Senators returned top goalie prospect Mads Søgaard to the minors yesterday. The 29-year-old is improving after a rocky start to his Senators career, solidifying himself as the team’s number-one option with a 5-4-0 record, .906 SV%, and 1.3 goals saved above average through ten starts.
  • Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson will be a game-time decision tonight against the Rangers as he deals with an upper-body injury, head coach Don Granato told reporters this morning (via Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News). The oft-injured blueliner left Saturday’s blowout loss to the Devils after taking a stick to the face and receiving multiple stitches to repair a cut on his lower lip, which is still causing him significant pain. Per Granato, he was held out of the remainder of the contest to clear concussion protocol. If Samuelsson does not play tonight, it will be his second injury-related absence of the season. A lower-body issue cost him three games at the beginning of the month. The 23-year-old is averaging a diminished 19:27 per game this season through 18 games, recording one goal, two assists, a -1 rating, and a middling Corsi share of 47.6% at even strength.

Atlantic Notes: Timmins, Benson, Barkov

at CDT | by 1 Comment

TSN’s Mark Masters has tweeted that Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Conor Timmins will play today, making his season debut for the team after he suffered a lower-body injury in a preseason game back on September 29th. Timmins could help fill some of the offensive void left by injured rearguard John Klingberg who was recently put on LTIR. Timmins offensive capabilities were on full display in the preseason when he notched six points in three games and he does have a very similar skillset to that of Klingberg, although the Maple Leafs will be hoping for a different result as Klingberg struggled early in his first season with Toronto.

Timmins benefited greatly from last year’s trade that saw him sent to the Maple Leafs by the Arizona Coyotes. In 25 games with Toronto, Timmins posted two goals and 12 assists while averaging 15 minutes of ice time per game. His puck management left a lot to be desired, but he did talk in the preseason about learning not to force plays with the puck and making better reads.

In other Atlantic Division notes:

  • The Buffalo News reporter Lance Lysowski tweeted today that Buffalo Sabres forward Zach Benson skated with the Sabres’ second power-play unit and looks as though he will plan in his tenth NHL game of the season today. Sportsnet later confirmed the news meaning that Benson will see the entry-level contract he signed for three seasons kick in immediately, and it can no longer slide or extend by a year. Benson is one of four players from the 2023 NHL entry draft who is playing in the NHL at the moment, and he has been productive thus far in nine games tallying a goal and four assists.
  • Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald tweeted that Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice has confirmed that star center Aleksander Barkov will return to the lineup tonight against the Winnipeg Jets. Barkov injured his knee last week against the Anaheim Ducks and missed the Panthers last two games. He took his usual spot in the lineup during this morning’s practice centering a line alongside Evan Rodrigues and Sam Reinhart. Barkov’s return will be a welcome sign for the Panthers as the 28-year-old has registered six goals and 11 assists in 16 games this season.

Maple Leafs Place John Klingberg On LTIR, Recall Alex Steeves

at CDT | by 16 Comments

The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed defenseman John Klingberg on long-term injured reserve and recalled forward Alex Steeves from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Klingberg’s LTIR assignment has been much anticipated, as the defender’s undisclosed injury grew from a small concern, to something that would hold him out of all action this week, to an LTIR designation.

Klingberg is in his first season with the Leafs, signing a one-year, $4.2MM contract with the team on July 1st. He’s performed modestly in his first 14 games with the club, netting five points, eight penalty minutes, and a -7.

Klingberg has moved around a lot in recent years, after spending the first eight years of his career with the Dallas Stars. He signed a one-year, $7MM contract with the Anaheim Ducks ahead of last season and appeared in 50 games with the club, netting 24 points and a -28. Anaheim didn’t stick out the contract, though, dealing him to the Minnesota Wild at last year’s Trade Deadline. Klingberg went on to play in 17 games and record nine points, in Minnesota – adding four points in four playoff games as well.

With the veteran defender on IR, Toronto brings up the Marlies’ leading scorer in Steeves. The 23-year-old forward has 18 points in 14 AHL games this season, a tally that ties him for third in the league in points. Steeves has played three NHL games in each of the last two seasons, totaling one point across the matchups.

Steeves provides depth for Calle Jarnkrok, who is slated to be a game-time decision for the team’s Friday matchup. Jarnkrok is dealing with a lower-body injury after taking an Auston Matthews shot to the leg.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top