This morning, Sportsnet’s Luke Fox listed 10 notable unrestricted free agents who remain available on the market, and, despite his status as a right-shooting, right defenseman, there is still speculation that 29-year-old John Klingberg will land in Detroit:
Age: 29
Position: Defence
2021-22 salary cap hit: $4.25 millionThe latest: Much like Nashville’s Mattias Ekholm, a younger Klingberg signed a sweetheart team-friendly deal and is finally due a meaningful raise.
While Klingberg’s production has dipped from his 67-point performance in 2017-18, top-four right-shot blueliners who can play in all situations never fail to command bidding wars.
That Klingberg remains searching for the proper dance partner is curious. A wild 24 hours suggested the Hurricanes, Kraken, Red Wings, and Senators were all in the mix here. Then, suddenly, the Dallas Stars were making a pitch to keep him in the fold.
A last-ditch return to Dallas fell apart, and the Hurricanes decided to trade for Brent Burns instead.
Where Klingberg — the top-rated D-man to hit the market — lands will be fascinating. Red Wings speculation persists.
Continued; if the Wings were to sign Klingberg, they’d probably need to trade Filip Hronek to both clear some cap space and to search for a left-side defenseman.
I don’t see the fit, but that’s just me.
He’s essentially a higher profile, higher priced version of Hronek.