Why a potential John Klingberg reunion makes sense for the Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly in the running to bring back defenceman John Klingberg.

TSN’s Darren Dreger reported Tuesday that the Leafs were one of the five-to-seven teams that expressed interest in acquiring his services, and a decision is expected within the next two weeks. Dreger expanded on his report on Insider Trading, adding that the Leafs are considered to be the frontrunners to sign him, with the Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators also in the mix.

At first glance, the idea of Klingberg being back on the Leafs can be seen as a head-scratcher given how things fared for him the first time around. He may have only been on the roster for 14 games but there were many moments when he looked out of sorts defensively, had trouble catching up to the play, and made too many gaffes that resulted in goals against.

Klingberg suffered a hip injury in November 2023 and  his season came to an end after he underwent a hip resurfacing surgery in January 2024. He has reportedly since resumed skating in recent weeks and is chomping at the bit to resume his NHL career 14 months after his last game.

Because of his hip resurfacing surgery, there is reason to believe that Klingberg’s second stint would fare a lot better than his first act and the idea of a reunion should not be quickly written off.

You may recall that this is the same surgery that Patrick Kane had in the summer of 2023 to help extend his NHL career for as long as possible. There were doubts that he would be able to make an impact when he was on the other side of his surgery, which he was able to put to rest when he went on to be a nearly point-per-game player and finish sixth on the Detroit Red Wings in scoring. Kane even received a pay raise last summer and shows no signs of slowing down offensively speaking.

Jesse Puljujarvi also underwent this surgery in 2023 and he has since been a serviceable fourth-liner for the Pittsburgh Penguins after overcoming doubts of his career being over. Matt Murray was able to work his back to the NHL and appeared in two games for the Leafs this season, after undergoing bilateral hip surgery ahead of the 2023-24 season.

Klingberg’s injured hip was a major reason why he struggled a lot in his first stint with the Leafs and those problems should now be fully behind him. That isn’t to say he’s going to suddenly become a defensive stalwart, but Klingberg has a better chance to hold his head above water in own his end than in the previous few seasons when his hip was bothering him.

If Klingberg is able to stay healthy, he would provide the Leafs with one thing they have been lacking this season: a quarterback on the power play. One of the reasons Brad Treliving signed him in the first place was because of Klingberg’s proficiency on the man advantage both as the setup man and as the shooter. At his best, he is a smooth skater who can help dictate the flow of the game has strong offensive awareness to know where to position himself as well as what to do with the puck.