Is John Klingberg The Short Term Answer For The Bruins Defense?
Is John Klingberg The Short Term Answer For The Bruins Defense?
Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg has requested a trade. The 29 year old Swedish product has one goal with 15 helpers on the season so far. He is 6 foot 2 and a willing hitter. Depending on how much merit you put into plus/minus, he has a -8 rating this season. His height and physical play have helped him over the course of his career. Now that he wants out, the Stars will have to field some calls for him - and there is one team that must put in an inquiry. Enter the Boston Bruins.
Why It Makes Sense
Sure, the Bruins are playing much better as of late. We can’t deny that. Shaking up the lines has provided a big boost for them offensively. But defensively, there are still some problems. Again, give credit where it’s due. Charlie McAvoy is a special talent on the Boston backend and Brandon Carlo is solid when healthy. Even Matt Grzelcyk has stepped his game up. He is the first Bruins defenseman since Ray Bourque in 1994 to register a five point night, talk about elite company.
However, the D core has been crazy inconstant. Derek Forbort was brought in from the Winnipeg Jets on a three year contract worth three million dollars. He has four goals, but hasn’t contributed as of late. He’s not using is big body to knock guys around and get the puck. John Moore is hurt again and is only playing part time in Boston as he plays in Providence. Jakub Zboril is done for the year with an ACL injury, Grzelcyk can be hot and cold, and Connor Clifton just isn’t getting the job done. Zdeno Chara isn’t walking back into the TD Garden doors with an eight spoked B on his jersey and a C on his chest anytime soon, so somebody has to be brought in to be that effective big body defenseman. Is Klingberg’s game perfect? Far from it, but what do you have to lose? He’s going to be a free agent at the end of the year anyway, and it shouldn’t cost that much to get him from the Stars. It’s a low risk high reward situation.
One Major Concern
Older players tend to lose their speed. For a defenseman, speed is really important. Some NHL media folks made a comment about Chara and Andy Greene being on the Islanders, and it’s actually a really good point. They said if it was 2006, it would be great. But it’s 2022, they are both in their 40s, and they can’t always keep up anymore. John Klingberg isn’t as old as Greene and Chara, but he could be on the decline. This could be a risk for any team willing to bring him into the fold. The Bruins the last couple of seasons have made some trades prior to the deadline in an effort to make a playoff push. We’ll see if it happens again.
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All of this and more still to come on The Announcer’s Eye!