John Klingberg Announces Retirement

Klingberg would hold down that role on Dallas’ top power play unit for the entirety of his eight-year career with the Stars. A dynamic offensive defenseman with high-level vision, passing ability, and skating, Klingberg was able to make the most of those tools and help turn the Stars’ power play into a legitimate team strength.

Across Klingberg’s entire Stars career, Dallas overall had the No. 8 power play in the league, converting on 20.6 percent of its chances. For the eight years prior to Klingberg’s arrival (2006-07 through 2013-14), the Stars power play was consistently a weakness, ranking No. 21 in the NHL across that time frame.

While one can’t attribute the Stars’ fortunes as a franchise entirely to the efforts of Klingberg, his role in elevating the team’s power play made a real difference in the team’s competitive fortunes. The Stars went on several deep playoff runs with Klingberg, including a run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020 that saw him produce 21 points in 26 games.

Klingberg hit unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2022 after failing to reach an agreement on a long-term extension with the Stars. Klingberg ended up finding open-market interest more tepid than expected, and he ended up parting ways with longtime agent Peter Wallen as a result. Klingberg hired Newport Sports Management to represent him after lingering on the open market for nearly a month (this was despite producing 47 points in 74 games in 2021-22), and a few days later, he inked a one-year, $7MM deal with the Anaheim Ducks.

Joining a rebuilding Ducks squad wasn’t an ideal move for Klingberg, as despite receiving a significant amount of ice time, he wasn’t able to reach his typical levels of productivity. The 24 points in 50 games he produced in California were well below the career-high of 67 points he was able to hit in Texas. By the time trade deadline season rolled around, the Ducks dealt Klingberg to the Minnesota Wild, who didn’t surrender all that much to acquire him. Klingberg was dealt to Minnesota for prospect Nikita Nesterenko (who was not ranked in the team’s top-15 prospects at the time, per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic), veteran defenseman Andrej Sustr, and a fourth-round pick.

Klingberg was able to contribute to a playoff team in Minnesota, posting 13 points in 20 combined regular-season and playoff games. But once again, Klingberg hit the open market and found himself receiving more limited interest from teams than he would have warranted even a few years prior. He signed another one-year deal, this time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but suffered a hip injury in November that ultimately ended his season.

The road back from hip surgery was not a quick one for Klingberg, and he didn’t sign with another team until January 2025. He won the second Clarence S. Campbell Bowl of his career with the Oilers, scoring four points in 19 games during their second consecutive run to the Stanley Cup Final. Last season, Klingberg once again played a big role for a rebuilding team, quarterbacking the No. 1 power play of the San Jose Sharks. He scored 10 goals and 27 points in 56 games, a 15-goal, 40-point 82-game scoring pace.

During his prime, Klingberg was able to regularly represent Sweden in international tournaments. He earned a spot on the senior men’s national team at four IIHF Men’s World Championships, winning back-to-back gold medals in 2017 and 2018. He was particularly successful in 2018, as he scored six points in 10 games and was named the tournament’s top defenseman.

We at PHR congratulate Klingberg for an exceptional professional career and wish him the best in his next chapter.