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NHL trade deadline: Wild acquire John Klingberg from Ducks

Klingberg will bring his offensive talents to a stout defensive unit in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Wild have acquired defenseman John Klingberg from the Anaheim Ducks at the NHL trade deadline in exchange for defenseman Andrej Sustr, a 2025 fourth-round pick and the rights to prospect Nikita Nesterenko.

Anaheim will retain 50 percent of Klingberg's $7 million salary in the deal.

The Wild were able to get a deal for Klingberg done right before the NHL trade deadline.(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
The Wild were able to get a deal for Klingberg done right before the NHL trade deadline.(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Klingberg has registered 30 points in 50 games with the Ducks this season after signing a one-year contract in the summer.

The 30-year-old's decision to go with a "prove-it" deal after eight seasons with the Dallas Stars has not payed off as he would've hoped, as Klingberg has posted some of the worst defensive metrics of any blueliner in the NHL this season.

Luckily for Klingberg, the Wild have given up the eighth-fewest goals in the league, and he will be tasked with giving the team a much-needed offensive boost from the back end.

Sustr, 32, has not appeared in an NHL game this season. The 6-foot-7 defenseman has registered 69 points in 369 career games.

Nesterenko was the Wild's sixth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, and has spent the last three years at Boston College in the NCAA. The 21-year-old has tallied 30 points in 32 games this season.