John Klingberg's Emergence Signals Potential Trade Moves for Brad Treliving and the Leafs
John Klingberg's potential comeback to the NHL this season gives credence to the fact that Brad Treliving could make some moves involving his blueliners.
With news that defenseman John Klingberg is looking to make a potential NHL return, there are several teams who can use his services. Seemingly healthy after hip resurfacing surgery, the Swedish defenseman would add a big boost to a potential playoff team.
Toronto is one of the teams linked to Klingberg, and given he played for the Leafs last year to great success before undergoing the aforementioned surgery, it's clear the interest is still there, not to mention he could help a struggling blueline.
But Toronto currently has a logjam on defense, and with the potential for Jani Hakanpaa to return, as well as Jake McCabe, there's slowly a growing depth chart with minimal roster spots.
So what if they were to kill two birds with one stone by not only adding Klingberg, but adding an asset they can use to help acquire the true piece they need?
In Comes John Klingberg, Out Goes Conor Timmins
If Toronto needs to add offense and Klingberg is the way to go, then the unfortunate candidate to be shipped out of town is defenseman Conor Timmins.
Klingberg is going to cost peanuts on the dollar, and will more than likely sign for the League minimum of $775,000, and even for the rest of the season is a bargain.
Timmins meanwhile makes $1.1M and is a free agent at season's end. Toronto would save some cap space albeit not a ton, while letting another team worry about his future and focus on re-signing John Tavares, Matthew Knies and/or Mitch Marner.
This season Timmins has one goal and six assists and while it's still a decent amount of production from their bottom paired blueliner, it doesn't make up for the lack of offense elsewhere.
Toronto needs Klingberg's puck moving ability and playmaking prowess in order to get great transitional scoring, and Timmins doesn't provide the same level although is better defensively.
Klingberg can play alongside Simon Benoit or if Toronto wanted to make a drastic change, they could move Benoit with Morgan Rielly, and put Klingberg and Oliver Ekman-Larsson together to create a potentially lethal offensive combination, though at the sake of defense.
Timmins won't garner a big pick, but adding an NHL-ready and dependable defenseman to a team should garner at least a mid-round selection which Toronto can then flip in a package for a third-line center.
Adding John Klingberg would solve a lot of issues for Toronto and could slide in on a game to game basis depending on how much offense the team needs on any given night.
But it comes at the cost of Toronto's reliable depth defenseman, but if it's the difference between a Stanley Cup or not, the price is definitely right.
