Elliotte Friedman: John Klingberg Signs New NHL Contract
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Brad Treliving lost out on a huge opportunity to add some firepower to their blueline as John Klingberg has signed with Edmonton.
Although there have been glimpses of offense from the Maple Leafs blueline, the production has been middling at best, and with a lot of their capable players not living up to expectations, a potential change was coming via the free agent market and bring back a former face in the midst of making a comeback.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will have to look beyond former player John Klingberg, as the former Leaf and Dallas Stars standout defenseman signed with the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.
The news was reported by Elliotte Friedman on X.
Toronto Maple Leafs Miss Out On Another Player, Edmonton Adds To Strong Roster
While there aren't immediate details over the logistics of the deal, Klingberg joins a strong Edmonton team that desperately needed some extra firepower of their own on the blueline.
It's an unfortunate turn of events for Leafs fans as they miss out yet again on adding a potential impact player as the time slowly ticks down to the March 7 trade deadline as more questions than answers have started to spring up.
With many question marks surrounding the offensive capabilities of their defensemen, there is no doubt Klingberg could have come in and made an impact.
Before undergoing hip resurfacing surgery last year, he had five assists in 14 games with Toronto showing he still had the ability to make a play. While it's not expected that he gets back to the 45-50 point range he had back as a member of the Dallas Stars, he will still bring a great veteran presence to the Oilers.
Even though the Oilers have some solid offense out of their defensmen, adding a true playmaker like Klingberg only makes a Western Conference powerhouse more dominant.
Edmonton is first in the Pacific; tied with Vegas, and are one of the big favorites to make a deep Cup run, and adding the veteran Klingberg (who also has great playoff numbers) brings yet another dimension to Connor McDavid's team.
Brad Treliving has to make a decision soon on where he wants to take his team going forward. Signings like Klingberg might not seem like it could help Toronto but come playoff time, if he's a big part of Edmonton's Stanley Cup hopes, fans can look back and be disappointed yet again in another missed opportunity.
