Free Agent Profile: John Klingberg

Eventually, through hard work and determination, Klingberg made it back to the NHL the following season, signing with the Edmonton Oilers in mid-January of the 2024-25 campaign. He finished on a strong note with the Oilers, especially in the postseason, but didn’t remain with the team.

Last season, Klingberg took advantage of the San Jose Sharks’ desperate need for defensemen, signing a one-year, $4MM pact with a full no-trade clause through the first half of the year, and a 14-team no-trade list through the deadline season. Klingberg has still been negatively impacted by injuries since, but not to the same degree as he was with the Maple Leafs. On a resurgent Sharks team, Klingberg finished second on the team in scoring among defensemen.

There are still reasonable questions as to how Klingberg’s body will hold up through another full season. Realistically, he’ll likely never reach the 70-game threshold again, but he won’t look out of place in a team’s top four when he is healthy. There are concerns for his play on the defensive side of the puck, so any team that signs Klingberg will have to pair him with a defensive-minded partner.

Stats

2025-26: 56 GP, 10 G, 17 A, 27 PTS, -13, 24 PIMS, 79 shots, 20:28 ATOI, 55.0 CF%
Career: 700 GP, 92 G, 351 A, 443 PTS, -53, 287 PIMS, 1,341 shots, 22:25 ATOI, 56.6 CF%

Potential Suitors

Unfortunately for Klingberg, there aren’t many teams with a significant need for a right-handed blueliner a few weeks after the opening of free agency. To this point, if any teams had significant needs, those areas have already been addressed.

As far as the most obvious fit, a return to Orange County makes a lot of sense. The Ducks lost John Carlson, Jacob Trouba, and Radko Gudas in the last few weeks, and are in a position to use some untested options to fill in those gaps. The team signed Nick Jensen on the opening day of free agency, but they could still use a bit more depth on the right side of the blue line.

Carlson’s new team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, also makes sense for Klingberg to some degree. Tampa Bay arguably has the best left side of a defensive corps in the league, but they don’t have a ton of strength behind Carlson on the right side. Given how impacted the defensive corps was by injuries last season, the Lightning could use some additional depth on defense to play it safe.

Lastly, returning to the Maple Leafs also seems like a reasonable option. Obviously, there’s no guarantee that Toronto will get a full season from veteran Chris Tanev after his groin injury last season, and Klingberg looks like the best available option if they want to move those minutes elsewhere.

Projected Contract

Heading into the offseason, AFP Analytics projected Klingberg to land a two-year, $10.3MM ($5.15MM AAV) on the free agent market. His $4MM salary in 2025-26 was 4.1% of the cap, and a $5.15MM salary in 2026-27 would have been approximately 5%, decreasing to 4.5% in 2027-28. That doesn’t seem too unreasonable given he had a far healthier season than he has had in recent years, but obviously, that contract didn’t materialize.

Given that he’s still struggling with some injuries, Klingberg is likely due for another one-year deal in the $2.5MM to $3.5MM range, with an added kicker in the form of games played bonuses. At the very least, that should open his options up to competitive teams, as teams like the Ducks and the Lightning could fit that in comfortably.