Report on John Klingberg Confirms that the Maple Leafs Officially Dodged a Huge Bullet
Photo credit: The Edmonton Journal
The Toronto Maple Leafs avoided a potentially disastrous situation with former Leafs defenseman John Klingberg, who signed a deal with the Oilers instead.
The Maple Leafs rolled the dice on a short-term contract for veteran Swedish defenseman John Klingberg last season, and it lasted all of 14 games.
The team decided not to bring him back, and he eventually signed a 1-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers in January. As it turns out, that was the right move for the Leafs not to retain him.
After just 11 games in an Edmonton Oilers sweater, Klingberg's year is officially over. He was placed on Long Term Injured Reserve, effectively ending his time with the Oilers.
The good news for the Oilers is that they can gain some salary cap flexibility, according to PuckPedia:
"Klingberg was eligible for the LTIR because from his last game played, the Oilers had 24 days until start of playoffs and 10 games remaining.
By gaining Klingberg's $1.76M cap hit as space in LTIR, Philp is automatically converted from $0 emergency exception cap hit to his full $775k. The Oilers now have $1.3M space remaining in LTIR."
By gaining Klingberg's $1.76M cap hit as space in LTIR, Philp is automatically converted from $0 emergency exception cap hit to his full $775k. The Oilers now have $1.3M space remaining in LTIR."
While with the Maple Leafs, Klingberg had hip resurfacing surgery in December of last year. He had been inked to a 1-year, $4.15 million deal by Toronto a year after he signed a similar 1-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks before being dealt from the Ducks to the Minnesota Wild at the Trade Deadline.
Klingberg reportedly turned down a massive contract extension with the Stars on the advice of his agent, instead taking a major gamble on himself with the aforementioned 1-year deal with the Ducks in a move that has drastically backfired and cost him tens of millions of dollars.
He has 416 points (82G, 334A) in 644 career games with the Stars, Ducks, Wild, Maple Leafs and Oilers.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 11 | 2534 ANSWERS Report on John Klingberg Confirms that the Maple Leafs Officially Dodged a Huge Bullet Did the Maple Leafs dodge a bullet by not retaining defenseman John Klingberg? | ||
| Yes | 2230 | 88 % |
| No | 304 | 12 % |
| List of polls | ||
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