Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
The Edmonton Oilers added John Klingberg to their blueline for the rest of the season, they announced Friday. TSN’s Darren Dreger and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman originally reported the signing.
The Oilers didn’t specify the financial amount, but Dreger reported it will be a $1-million pro-rated salary and a $350,000 bonus.
The Oilers are Klingberg’s fifth team of his NHL career. He also played for the Dallas Stars, Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs.
🗣️JOHN KLINGBERG‼️
The #Oilers have signed the free agent defenceman to a one-year contract. Klingberg has scored 81 goals & 331 assists in 633 career @NHL regular season games. pic.twitter.com/b7kI159pAt
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 17, 2025
Five to seven teams, including the Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators, were considering adding Klingberg, according to Dreger.
The 32-year-old has missed just over a year of NHL action. His last game was with the Maple Leafs on Nov. 11, 2023. He played only 14 games for Toronto before being ruled out for the remainder of the season after undergoing bilateral hip surgery. He provided five assists and had a minus-seven rating.
Klingberg has played in the NHL for 10 seasons and appeared in 633 games. The offensive defenseman has scored 81 goals and 412 points. Once he returns to play, he’ll be 19th in scoring among active defensemen, one point ahead of Nick Leddy.
His best days were with the team that drafted him 131st overall in the 2010 NHL draft, the Stars. Klingberg’s career high was in the 2017-18 campaign, when he logged 67 points in 82 games. That was tied for the second-most among D-men that season, one point behind John Carlson of the Washington Capitals. Klingberg finished sixth in Norris Trophy voting that year.
On Thursday, the NHL named Klingberg to the Stars’ second quarter-century team with Esa Lindell as the other D-man.
More to come.
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