Oilers Activate John Klingberg From Injured Reserve
Oilers defenseman John Klingberg will make his debut for the team after signing a one-year deal nearly two weeks ago, head coach Kris Knoblauch told the team’s Bob Stauffer. He’ll need to come off injured reserve before Thursday’s game against the Red Wings, something Edmonton will have no problem doing with a pair of open roster spots.
Tonight will mark Klingberg’s first NHL game since Nov. 11, 2023. The 32-year-old, who had signed a one-year deal worth $4.15MM with the Maple Leafs for that season, ended up needing hip resurfacing surgery that ended his campaign and prevented him from signing anywhere on the open market over the summer. He only started skating last month as he geared up for an NHL return, eventually landing a $1.35MM commitment from the Oilers.
Klingberg told Mark Spector of Sportsnet that the 2023 procedure was the third he’s had on his hips in his career. He had double hip surgery twice between when he was drafted by the Stars in the fifth round in 2010 and when he made his NHL debut in 2014, neither of which fully addressed whatever issues he’d been having. He told Spector that he’s entering an NHL campaign pain-free for the first time in his 11-year career – a good sign for the Oilers that he might be able to recapture his form as a top power-play quarterback.
The 32-year-old will handle second-pairing duties alongside Darnell Nurse in his debut, giving Edmonton two offensively-inclined options at the top of their right defense depth chart with Evan Bouchard. Stay-at-home piece Ty Emberson, who’s logged a good portion of ice time alongside Nurse this season, moves down to more comfortable third-pairing duties with Brett Kulak, per Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic. Klingberg and Nurse will stay together on the team’s second power-play unit with Viktor Arvidsson, Adam Henrique and Corey Perry.
Klingberg posted five assists and a minus-seven rating in 14 appearances with Toronto last year before the surgery ended his campaign. He’s averaged 0.65 points per game over his career, though, 14th among defensemen with at least 200 games played since he entered the league.
West Notes: O’Hearn, Innala, Ivan, Klingberg
According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, the Chicago Blackhawks have hired Chris O’Hearn as their next vice president of hockey operations. O’Hearn brings an extensive legal background to the Blackhawks front office and is expected to help the team navigate the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the production of contracts.
After earning his Juris Doctor in 2007 from New England Law – Boston, O’Hearn joined the Phoenix Coyotes as the director of hockey administration for the 2012-13 season. O’Hearn moved up the chain of command relatively quickly, becoming the Coyotes’ assistant general manager behind John Chayka in 2015-16.
O’Hearn took a one-year hiatus from the NHL during the 2018-19 campaign before signing on with the Minnesota Wild in 2019-20 as director of hockey operations. General manager Bill Guerin promoted O’Hearn to assistant general manager ahead of the 2021-22 season. O’Hearn was tasked with contract negotiations and CBA matters, similar to what he’ll be tasked with in Chicago.
Other notes from the Western Conference:
- The cap-strapped Colorado Avalanche are again using paper transactions to maximize their salary capture. Colorado announced they’ve reassigned forwards Jere Innala and Ivan Ivan to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. Neither player found the scoreboard this afternoon against the Minnesota Wild but both should be expected back on the roster of Colorado’s upcoming game on Wednesday.
- Don’t expect to see newly-signed defenseman John Klingberg to play for the Edmonton Oilers in the next few games. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reported earlier that Klingberg is still a week out from game action. Although Klingberg has been working his way back to game speed over the last few months, it’s understandable he’ll need additional time given he hasn’t played in an NHL contest since November 11th, 2023.
Oilers Sign John Klingberg
2:31 p.m.: Klingberg’s bonus is a signing bonus, not performance incentives, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports. There are no performance bonuses in the deal, but the prorated cap hit now rises to $1.35MM instead of $1MM.
1:57 p.m.: Klingberg’s contract carries a prorated base salary and cap hit of $1MM, Dreger reports. He can earn an additional $350K in performance bonuses. The Oilers confirmed the signing in quick succession.
12:37 p.m.: The Oilers are nearing an agreement with unrestricted free agent defenseman John Klingberg, Darren Dreger of TSN reports Friday.
Edmonton was one of a few Canadian teams and a smaller handful south of the border to express interest in Klingberg over the past few weeks, according to earlier reporting from Dreger. The 32-year-old, who finished as high as sixth in Norris Trophy voting twice early in his career, hasn’t played in well over a year after undergoing season-ending hip resurfacing surgery with the Maple Leafs in December 2023.
Klingberg became an unrestricted free agent last summer after the one-year, $4.15MM deal he signed with Toronto in 2023 lapsed after just 14 appearances. As a player with at least 400 NHL games played who spent at least 100 days on injured reserve in the prior season, he’s eligible to sign a one-year contract with performance bonuses that could lower the initial cap hit of the deal.
As with any contract involving performance bonuses, the Oilers must have the cap room to accommodate any bonuses he may earn as part of his deal. If they don’t, any amount they exceed the salary cap will be applied as a bonus carryover penalty to their 2025-26 picture.
Thanks to Evander Kane‘s continuing recovery from multiple surgeries, Edmonton should be in the clear with over $5MM in its LTIR pool. His availability for the rest of the regular season is in doubt after he underwent additional knee surgery earlier this month, carrying an eight-week recovery period and halting his rehabilitation from offseason abdominal surgery.
If he stays healthy, Klingberg serves as an early deadline pickup for the Oilers and takes some pressure off general manager Stan Bowman to give up assets for an additional right-shot defender. Edmonton’s left side of Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak have all averaged north of 20 minutes per game this season and done so with decent possession metrics, but the same can’t be said of depth righties Ty Emberson and Troy Stecher.
The Oilers needed another body to throw into the mix on either their second pairing alongside Nurse or their third pairing next to Kulak, and adding Klingberg gives them a far more offensively inclined option – albeit one that comes with significant defensive shortcomings. While still a serviceable power-play quarterback who posted five assists in last year’s injury-shortened campaign and has averaged more than 20 minutes per game in all of his 10 NHL seasons, his -60 rating between the 2021-22 and 2023-24 campaigns is sixth-worst among defensemen. In the 2022-23 season, which he split between the Ducks and Wild, he was on the ice for more expected goals against per game at even strength (1.13) than any other qualified defender in the league.
Edmonton will need to free up a roster spot to sign Klingberg officially. That will likely be demoting center Noah Philp or defenseman Josh Brown to AHL Bakersfield.
Klingberg will be a UFA again in months if his contract is a one-year pact, as expected. It will mark his third consecutive one-year deal after completing a seven-year, $29.75MM commitment with the Stars in 2022.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Morning Notes: Klingberg, Tanev, Mittelstadt
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.