The Edmonton Oilers have made something big out of nothing a few times in recent years.
The Oilers did it in 2022, signing Evander Kane when San Jose had had enough of him, with Kane becoming a key Oilers performer, especially in the playoffs, ever since that signing.
Edmonton did it again in 2024, signing up veteran grinder Corey Perry when Chicago was fed up with him, with Perry playing decent two-way hockey for the Oil when healthy.
Now the target is reportedly John Klingberg, an unrestricted free agent coming back from major injury.
At TSN, insider Darren Dreger reports, “John Klingberg is closing in on resuming his NHL career. Toronto, Ottawa and Edmonton among the teams with expressed interest. A decision expected in next 2 weeks. Klingberg had hip resurfacing surgery in 2023 and has worked hard to get to this point. 5-7 teams in the mix.”
Klingberg presents some risk, but so did Perry and Kane. The Swedish d-man played just 14 games last year due to his injury. Toronto had signed him to a one-year $4.15 million contract, but the Leafs got little value from that deal.
Before his season was shut down for good, Klingberg sat out games in Toronto. “I’m not happy with my performance either,” Klingberg told reporters in November 2023. “Don’t feel like I’m moving my feet well. Not skating the way I can.”
Luke Fox of Sportsnet wrote at the time: “He’s in the mud, the analytics and eye test are his twin enemies, and he has swiftly become the fan base’s whipping boy.”
Before injury slowed him, however, Klingberg was a top-pairing, puck-moving right shot d-man with great offence and OK defence. He’s still just 32, and d-men who can skate as well as Klingberg has in the past often have solid years from ages 32 to 36 or so. At the same time, Klingberg’s injury history may limit his ability, even with surgery and rehab. Even before this recent procedure, he’d had two surgeries on his hip earlier in his career.
At the right price, in the $1 million range, him coming to Edmonton could be a win-win, with Klingberg slotting in next to Darnell Nurse on the second pairing, providing a steady puck-mover to complement Nurse’s speed and aggression, which would boost Edmonton’s chances of winning the Cup, not to mention Klingberg’s value as a free agent this summer.
I’ve often heard Sportsnet commentator Jason Strudwick mention that the right partner for Nurse isn’t a Big Bobby Clobber type, it’s a smart puck-mover to take some of that load off of Nurse’s shoulders. Klingberg could well be that kind of player for the Oilers if he’s healthy.
We all recall how Sam Gagner came back with renewed life last year after having a similar operation. Gagner said he hadn’t felt so good nor moved so well in years. Could the same dynamic play out with Klingberg?
Many will also recall that both Sheldon Souray and Andrej Sekera were discarded by Edmonton due to injury but went on to have a decent season each with the Dallas Stars. You never know, so if the price is right on Klingberg, he’s worth the bet.
Klingberg will have other options with other teams, but with that right-shot slot wide open beside Nurse, and with the possibility of playing with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on a Stanley Cup contender, one would have to think Edmonton would be near the top of Klingberg’s list, just as Dreger suggests it is.
Of course, it could be that Edmonton will favour other options over Klingberg, perhaps a bigger, more physical defender. But signing Klingberg would not limit the Oilers to just one move. They could also bring in a big, physical d-man at the trade deadline if that was still deemed to be a need.
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