The Edmonton Oilers were able to make some serious improvements to their roster this offseason, perhaps most notably being the signing of Jack Campbell to address their goaltending position. That said, even with these improvements their blue line still leaves plenty to be desired, though according to Elliotte Friedman, they worked very hard to try and improve it.
On the latest 32 Thoughts podcast episode, Friedman explained that the Oilers tried to work out a sign and trade scenario with the Montreal Canadiens involving then free agent John Klingberg. Due to his contract demands, the Oilers were not able to sign him themselves, so they attempted to get the Canadiens involved.
“Before he ended up in Anaheim, I do think they (Edmonton Oilers) were looking at Klingberg and they were trying to do something with another team, potentially Montreal,” Friedman explained. “Klingberg would sign there (Montreal) and then get traded to Edmonton. Montreal would have retained a bit and the Oilers would have added a sweetener and maybe they’d have to move a player or two. I do think that was talked about.”
In the end, the two were able to put something together and Klingberg went on to sign a one-year, $7 million deal with the Anaheim Ducks, a rather underwhelming contract given that he supposedly turned down a deal in the ball park of six-years, $36 million from the Dallas Stars during the 2021-22 season. That said, just because the Oilers weren’t able to land him this summer doesn’t rule out acquiring him later this coming season.
With Klingberg signing in Anaheim, a team who is still in the relatively early stages of a rebuild, the general consensus is that he will get traded at or prior to the 2023 trade deadline. Given the clear interest they showed recently, along with their need for help on the back end, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Oilers look to pick him up in hopes of going on an even deeper playoff run than this past year. That is simply pure speculation at this point in time, but is something to monitor as the 2022-23 season progresses.
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