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Former Top Stars Defenseman Has New Home After Lengthy Layoff

taylor newby
·2 min read

After over a year of recovery from hip surgery, John Klingberg will make his long-awaited return to the NHL after signing a one-year, $1 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.

Only a few seasons ago, John Klingberg was looking for a lucrative long-term deal after a lengthy run on the top pairing of the Dallas Stars defense, but the past two seasons have been nothing short of a disaster for the Swede.

After betting on himself by signing a one year deal with the Anaheim Ducks worth $7 million, Klingberg was traded to the Minnesota Wild at the trade deadline. Klingberg's value diminished far below what he could have gotten long-term the prior offseason due to his poor performance for both teams, which included getting healthy scratched in a first round playoff series against Dallas.

Klingberg signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs for $4.15 million last season and had his season cut short after only a month of underwhelming play due to a hip injury that finally required surgery.

Since then, Klingberg has been on the path to recovery, and he would hope back to a level of play closer to his days in Dallas instead of what came after.

Klingberg has not played an NHL game since November of 2023, so there is no predicting what he will look like back on the ice.

The Gothenberg, Sweden native was drafted by the Dallas Stars in 2010 and played with them from 2014-2022. He hit a career-high 67 points with the Stars during the 2017-18 season. He was the number one puck-mover and power-play quarterback for several seasons, but he and Dallas could not come to an agreement on a contract in that fateful 2022 offseason.

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