One of the top names left on the free-agent market has come off the board.
According to Kevin Weekes, the Anaheim Ducks have signed defenseman John Klingberg to a one-year contract worth $7 million.
This signing comes just a few days after Frank Seravalli reported that Klingberg had parted ways with his longtime agent Peter Wallen and switched his representation to Newport Sports Management. Wallen was Klingberg’s agent when he inked a seven-year, $29.75M contract with the Dallas Stars back in 2015.
Klingberg came into unrestricted free agency for the first time in his NHL career this summer as one of the top names on the open market. The puck-moving defender scored 47 points over 74 games with the Stars last season and racked up 374 points in 552 games over eight seasons in Dallas all told.
This is the second splash that the Ducks have made this summer, as they also inked center Ryan Strome to a five-year, $25 million earlier in the summer. Signing Klingberg and Strome at a combined $12 million annually will help the Ducks reach the salary cap floor in 2022-23.
For Klingberg, this situation is fairly reminiscent of what happened with Taylor Hall a few years back. He couldn’t find the big, multi-year deal he was looking for and wound up taking a one-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres. He was traded from Buffalo to the Boston Bruins at the 2021 trade deadline and wound up signing there long term.
Klingberg is turning 30 years old in August and will have another crack at finding a long-term contract as a free agent next summer.
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