The Edmonton Oilers have had a strong 2024-25 campaign and seem poised to make a return to the postseason. They made some strong moves in the offseason to make up for the losses of Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg by bringing in Vasily Podkolzin and Ty Emberson, but it doesn’t seem like they may be done adding to their roster just yet. In a couple of recent reports from Darren Dreger and TSN’s Insider Trading, it seems as though the Oilers are frontrunners for a defender who has had some serious injury issues in the past, and that’s John Klingberg. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, and Vancouver Canucks were also listed as potential suitors for him, but Dreger mentioned that the Maple Leafs and Oilers are currently frontrunners to sign him.
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Klingberg, who is 32 years old, played with the Maple Leafs for part of the 2023-24 season before his campaign was cut short so he could deal with an ongoing issue with his hip. He was placed on injured reserve on November 23rd, 2023, and hasn’t played a game in the NHL since then. At the time, he was expected to miss 5-6 months and be able to return for the start of the 2024-25 season. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to get back to playing form until recently, and it seems as though he’s ready to crack an NHL lineup now.
Klingberg had signed a one-year, $4.15 million contract with the Maple Leafs for the 2023-24 season, but he was eventually placed on LTIR allowing them to spend elsewhere. He had five assists in 14 games before being placed on injured reserve. In the 2022-23 campaign split between the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild, he scored 10 goals and added 23 assists for 33 points through 67 games. His offensive-minded style of play attracted teams in need of depth, and it seems as though the Oilers are intrigued about the possibility of him adding depth to their lineup.
Klingberg’s Defensive Issues Should Scare Teams
Klingberg’s offensive style might be what earns him a new contract with whichever team chooses to pay him to play a depth role. There will be obvious concerns about his health considering how major his hip injury was, but if he has moved past it and is fully healthy, he might be worth considering bringing in. Through 633 career games in the NHL, he has scored 81 goals…
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