Recently news dropped that veteran right shot defenseman John Klingberg has recovered from his surgeries and is in talks with a number of teams including the Oilers, Leafs, and Senators.
Klingberg, now 32 years of age was for years one of the most prolific offense, puck moving defenders in the NHL. For years he was a dominant force on the Dallas Stars blueline... until he signed in Anaheim. The 22/23 season was a brutal one for the 6'3 defender which saw his point production drop to career lows. Those numbers continued later that season when he was traded to the Wild.
Last year, Klingberg signed in Toronto and was not good at all (-7 in 14 games) before a hip injury and subsequent surgery kept him out for the season. While it's great to hear that Klingberg feels healthy enough to try and renew his career, there are big question marks on whether or not he is would be a useful addition to this Oilers roster.
Klingberg is what Bouchard's detractors think that he is; a offensive player who is a huge liability defensively. To compare, let's look at the prior three seasons and the Goals For (GF%) and Expected GF% (xGF%) for both Klingberg and Bouchard
21/22
Klingberg
GF%: 44.26
xGF%: 50.73%
Bouchard
GF%: 51.24%
xGF%: 53.47%
22/23
Klingberg
GF%: 41.12%
xGF%: 39.63%
Bouchard
GF%: 53.66%
xGF%: 57.74%
23/24
Klingberg
GF%: 39.13%
xGF%: 42.69%
Bouchard
GF%: 61.84%
xGF%: 61.69%
Dating back even to when Klingberg was still with the Stars, his overall numbers show a player that regularly gets outscored when he is on the ice. Maybe as a third pairing player who gets a bunch of time on the powerplay, Klingberg could be useful but that is not what the Edmonton Oilers need.
The Oilers have a top pairing in Ekholm and Bouchard and a third pairing in Kulak and Emberson. Darnell Nurse has actually had a strong season with most of his time spent with Kulak or Troy Stecher. That is the area of the blueline that needs upgrading. Expecting Klingberg to come in and fill that gap seems like an unlikely success story.
IF, the Oilers were to sign Klingberg to a league minimum deal and try him out with Darnell Nurse for a couple months and if he is anything short of spectacular, you can easily bury that contract and add a legitimate top 4 player at the deadline. That is the one situation in which I would be open to Edmonton signing him.
Ultimately I don't see Klingberg moving the needle and especially if he is looking for term or any contract that starts with a 1... I think Edmonton should focus elsewhere.
Thanks for reading.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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