Insider: Maple Leafs Are ‘Front Runners’ to Sign Former All-Star Defenseman

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Maple Leafs favorites for John Klingberg.

The Toronto Maple Leafs could soon be adding an impact veteran defenseman.

John Klingberg is still a free agent as he’s working his way back from a hip injury. According to TSN’s NHL insider Darren Dreger, the veteran defenseman is skating and getting close to a return.

With Klingberg getting close to a return, several teams have shown interest in him, but Dreger believes the Maple Leafs are front runners to sign him.

“There is a lot of interest and they have narrowed the field a little bit,” Dreger said. “I’d say five to seven teams are now in the mix for the return of a veteran right-shot defenseman. Let’s remind hockey fans that John Klingberg had hip resurfacing surgery in the fall of 2023. The same surgery that Patrick Kane had, the same surgery Jesse Puljujarvi had. It’s been a long road of recovery, but in the last couple of weeks, he’s amped it up, he’s skating on a daily basis.

“He feels good so the next step in his process is to identify the team he wants to play with, sign a contract at least for the remainder of the year, and push it forward,” Dreger added. “Again, five to seven teams are basically on the cut line that Klingberg has to make a decision on. I’d put the front runners, as the Toronto Maple Leafs. Honorable mention going to the Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators, in that group. If it isn’t Toronto, it’s likely Edmonton.”

Klingberg is coming off a one-year $4.15 million deal with the Maple Leafs. However, he played in just 14 games due to the injury. His career-high is 67 points which he recorded in 2017-18. Klingberg was an All-Star in 2018.

Klingberg Was Disappointed With Season-Ending

Toronto signed Klingberg to a one-year deal in 2023 to help bolster the blue line.

However, he dealt with a nagging injury which ultimately needed surgery. Once it was revealed he would be out for the season, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving says the defenseman was disappointed with the news.

“He’s disappointed like any player, you’re disappointed,” Treliving said. “He was hopeful that this wouldn’t be the case, but now once you make that determination and once it’s finalized, you go to step two, which is getting through it, get through the procedure and get ready for rehab and go from there. The option that we looked at was patchwork, which he tried to do.

“This was really aggravated in the Florida game which was game four (Oct. 19) and then you saw him patchwork it for a few weeks so ultimately we wanted to take some time on how to get to the best outcome and ultimately this needs to be done,” Treliving added.

Klingberg recorded 0 goals and 5 assists in the 14 games he played with Toronto.

Maple Leafs Will be Aggressive Ahead of Deadline

Toronto is one of the best teams in the NHL and the Maple Leafs will look to add the group ahead of the trade deadline.

The Maple Leafs have been linked to centerman and defensemen, but Treliving says making the right move is key and not mortgaging the future.

“That’s the balance, right?” Treliving said. “You know, it’s not fantasy hockey, you got to see what’s available. You look at good teams, too: You need to have those good, young players on, quite frankly, entry-level deals and lower money. Those help you be successful as well, too. So, it’s a balance.”

Toronto is 27-15-2 and atop the Atlantic Division.