Win-Win. Anaheim has the Cap Space and the young talent to give Klingberg the opportunity to showcase his special talents.
The seemingly long wait on a new contract for John Klingberg has finally ended. The Anaheim Ducks proved willing to meet the salary portion of the puck moving defenders requirements, if not the duration.
John Klingberg, signed 1x$7M by ANA, is a top four offensive defenceman who’s one of the best puck movers in the game but struggles a lot defensively. #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/kqymJbZasM
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 29, 2022
After several seasons of playing on a defense first, offense will take care of itself Dallas Stars, the Ducks give Klingberg the opportunity to play with a team that can, at least at the top end, play with skill and speed.
The Ducks still have some work to finish, especially signing forwards, but this move gets the team officially above the Cap minimum for the year. It also opens up the opportunity for Klingberg to get 5×5 and power play time with two developing star forwards in Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras.
With the Anaheim Ducks signing John Klingberg to a 1 x $7 mil AAV contract, they are now officially above the salary floor.
— CJ Woodling (@CJWoodling) July 29, 2022
The Ducks are in rebuild mode, so the expectation is that Klingberg will find himself back on the market at the trade deadline.
The Stars can now concentrate on reworking their defensive corps. Head Coach Pete DeBoer tends to run his offense through the point, so losing a player who controls the blue line seems to be less than ideal. It certainly means that Miro Heiskanen will be in the spotlight even more than ever.
The Stars, in what you have to attribute to intentional irony, also announced the signing of Ben Gleason to a one year, two way contract.
Welcome back to #TexasHockey, Ben!
We have signed defenseman Ben Gleason to a one-year, two-way contract.
MORE: https://t.co/BQqKddHiWP pic.twitter.com/Sq4sXQDdND
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) July 29, 2022