Oilers Sign John Klingberg Following Extended Injury Layoff
The Edmonton Oilers weren’t waiting until the Mar. 7 trade deadline to address their blue line.
On Friday, the club announced it had signed defenceman John Klingberg to a one-year contract. The deal marks his return to the NHL after missing over a year while recovering from hip surgery.
TSN’s Darren Dreger, who first reported Klingberg’s signing with Edmonton, reports his deal is worth $1 million – prorated due to the time he’s already missed this season – and includes a $350,000 signing bonus.
Klingberg drew interest from several teams before announcing his decision, according to Dreger, three of which reside in Canada – the Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs (one of his former clubs) and Ottawa Senators. Now, he joins the Western Conference representative from last season’s Stanley Cup Final.
The 32-year-old defenceman hasn’t played an NHL game since Nov. 11, 2023. He became an unrestricted free agent last summer once his one-year, $4.15-million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs expired.
His Maple Leafs tenure only lasted 14 games, during which he registered five assists and averaged 20:33 per night, before undergoing season-ending hip surgery. It was the same procedure that forward Patrick Kane underwent several months before signing with the Detroit Red Wings.
Edmonton’s defensive corps was in desperate need of some right-handed-shooting assistance, as the club cycled through the likes of Ty Emberson, Troy Stecher and Josh Brown in bottom-four roles under Evan Bouchard. They’ve also tried having Brett Kulak play on his off-wing next to fellow lefty Darnell Nurse on the second pairing.
If Klingberg stays healthy, the veteran blueliner could be an impactful pre-trade deadline acquisition for Oilers GM Stan Bowman, saving him from surrendering valuable resources on a right-shot defenceman – which are highly-coveted across the league.
The Oilers continue to benefit from having forward Evander Kane on long-term injured reserve, providing the organization with over $5 million in salary cap relief. Even after signing Klingberg, Bowman should have the flexibility to continue seeking roster upgrades since Kane is expected to miss the entire regular season after recently undergoing knee surgery, further delaying his recovery from last off-season’s abdominal procedure.
It remains to be seen how much of an impact Klingberg will be able to make, though, considering his production has declined significantly over the last several seasons.
The Swedish defenceman posted at least 10 goals and 40 points in four of his first five NHL seasons from 2014-19, all with the Dallas Stars. But his performance began to slip over the ensuing three campaigns, ultimately leading to his departure as a UFA following the 2021-22 season.
Granted, Klingberg provided 10 goals and 33 points across 67 games in 2022-23, which he split between the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild. However, he was a major defensive liability that year, as evidenced by his minus-25 rating, the second-worst of his career.
Edmonton’s roster now features 24 skaters after inking Klingberg, one over the maximum limit of 23. Thus, they’ll have to reassign someone to AHL Bakersfield ahead of Saturday’s contest against the Vancouver Canucks.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.