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Confirmed with Link: Leafs sign RHD John Klingberg (1 year, $4.15M) | UPD 11/23: LTIR

He’s clearly a top 4 D based on his offensive presence alone. And he’s average defensively. At least compared to the abomination that is our D core.
 
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Klingberg was a good signing and a need. I said so at the time and I’m still saying it now.

He brings an element we’ve been sorely lacking, his defensive issues are way overblown due to playing on a tirefire Anaheim team, and the reality is finding a player who can do what Klingberg does is generally expensive. The kind of guys this team needs on the backend to balance things out however don’t cost usually much either in cap or in assets. There’s usually several of them available every deadline

Unless they make a move for a more major D, which I’m here for, but isn’t specifically required
 
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ViewsFromThe6ix said:
He's not close to Holl in his own end. The bias against Holl within this fanbase is nuts. He's much better with the puck on his stick though.
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He’s not close to Holl in his own end? That’s silly. Holl would constantly get hemmed in due to the fact he had no puck control and a poor first pass. A dman who plays <20mins per night needs to be able to pass the puck. That right there makes Klingberg stronger than Holl in his own end. I’d love to hear your take on what makes Holl a better defender than Klingberg.

And I’ve never been biased against Holl. The guy was overused here, not his problem. He was a good soldier for us, but was not particularly good at anything outside of the PK.

I feel like you’re underrating Klingberg here, he’s superior to Holl in basically every regard.
 
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Klingberg will be a nice surprise for us on the PP ....we witnessed it a bit agains the Habs. He moves well and is a great passer. And he shot is underrated. Much better having him then Rielly who is a expert in shooting in the defenders shin pads.

You take a bit of a hit defensively but I wish we could move up Lilly to play more minutes and have Klingberg on the 3rd pairing but gets alot of PP time
 
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Stephen said:
Rough to start Game 1 but showed his offensive prowess from the point after the second period.
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That save he made at the point(to keep the puck in) late in the third took A LOT of skill. When I seen that I said to myself "if this guy is playing at that level in the playoffs this team is going deep". Amazing.

It's plays like that and all three Matthews goals that set teams apart.
 
ViewsFromThe6ix said:
He's not close to Holl in his own end. The bias against Holl within this fanbase is nuts. He's much better with the puck on his stick though.
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Is it bias or facts, look how many goals he was on for in the playoffs, it wasn’t a mirage of our own making, we were watching pure ass on full display. Holl was garbage, he had spurts of decent play but would regress to awful. I couldn’t miss him less.
 
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I thought he had a good first game.

Worth remembering he doesn't exactly have the greatest career reputation in his own zone. Going to need a bigger sample of games before comparing him to any current or former Leafs D in that regard
 
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Bust said:
He’s not close to Holl in his own end? That’s silly. Holl would constantly get hemmed in due to the fact he had no puck control and a poor first pass. A dman who plays <20mins per night needs to be able to pass the puck. That right there makes Klingberg stronger than Holl in his own end. I’d love to hear your take on what makes Holl a better defender than Klingberg.

And I’ve never been biased against Holl. The guy was overused here, not his problem. He was a good soldier for us, but was not particularly good at anything outside of the PK.

I feel like you’re underrating Klingberg here, he’s superior to Holl in basically every regard.
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Holl has better impact defensively but he’s worse in his own end if that makes sense. Holl’s strength was taking away space and slowing down the attack through the neutral zone, he prevented us from needing to play a lot of defense but once we were in our zone his lack of physicality and passing kept us hemmed in longer than we needed to be. Holl buys your forwards time to get back and swarm the puck carrier before it turns into a fight in your corner.

Klingberg has bad defensive IQ through the NZ but he’s more useful in the D-zone the same way Kaberle was on the PK, just get him the puck and it’s a near guaranteed pressure release valve.
 
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ViewsFromThe6ix said:
He's not close to Holl in his own end. The bias against Holl within this fanbase is nuts. He's much better with the puck on his stick though.
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For most of their careers Klingberg has been on a completely different level to Holl at both ends of the ice.

blackoutdallas.com

Dallas Stars: John Klingberg Is A Frontrunner In Norris Trophy Race

There are plenty of capable NHL defensemen included in the Norris Trophy race. But Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg is definitely a frontrunner.
blackoutdallas.com blackoutdallas.com

But that’s not his only role in the Dallas lineup. Klingberg has shown a new commitment to his defensive game that we have yet to see throughout his career. He’s quick to break up opposing offensive rushes, doesn’t lose his composure when in the defensive zone, and gives up minimal chances alongside partner Esa Lindell.

New head coach Ken Hitchcock is trusting the young defender in a lot of different situations, and it seems to be paying off in a large way. Klingberg owns a +14 rating on the season and is averaging 23:33 of ice time per game. Those numbers are impressive to find in a balanced Dallas defensive lineup. He plays smart and helps his team with each shift.
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"Klinger, since the start of the round robin, has been emotionally involved," he said. "He's engaged, he's here to win. You can see his physical play, he had some fantastic hits. What's impressive from a coaching perspective is his willingness to take a hit to make a play. Defensively he's been rock-solid, he moves the puck well, skates so well with it, he's very confident and he's playing great two-way hockey here. He has bought in 100 percent to what we're trying to do here."
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www.dallasnews.com

John Klingberg making massive contribution to some of Stars' biggest playoff goals, even if he’s not scoring them

Defenseman John Klingberg has made a massive contribution to some of the Stars' biggest goals of these playoffs, even if he’s not the one scoring them. Corey...
www.dallasnews.com

Largely overshadowed by Miro Heiskanen’s performance throughout the postseason, Klingberg has been clutch for the Stars, especially in the Cup Final, during which he has a goal and four assists. He has sneaked into the conversation as a potential Conn Smythe Trophy dark horse and has been a key cog for the Stars on the back end as they have asked for more offensive contributions from their defensemen.

Klingberg is strong in transition, moving the puck with long stretch passes. He is aggressive in pinching down in the offensive zone to keep possessions alive. Those traits have their drawbacks, particularly turnovers, but are a big net positive for the Stars. Klingberg is also one of the best defensemen in the league at getting pucks toward the net.
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He is going to be a 65 point all-situations defenseman for the Leafs. They will be able to shield him from some of the tough minutes, and he will get massive ice time when the Leafs are down by a goal or two. He will end up being one of the best UFA (maybe the best after Bertuzzi) signings of the off-season amongst all teams. The Leafs won't be able to afford him after this season, but as with Samsonov it won't matter because he will have filled his purpose.
 
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Evilhomer said:
He is going to be a 65 point all-situations defenseman for the Leafs. They will be able to shield him from some of the tough minutes, and he will get massive ice time when the Leafs are down by a goal or two. He will end up being one of the best UFA (maybe the best after Bertuzzi) signings of the off-season amongst all teams. The Leafs won't be able to afford him after this season, but as with Samsonov it won't matter because he will have filled his purpose.
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That's pretty optimistic.
 
Klingberg lead our defense in TOI against the Habs.

That number is skewed a bit because he'll play in OT, but most others won't. But still. He wasn't just a sheltered PP specialist in that game. Looks like our coaching staff is going to trust him.
 
IPS said:
That's pretty optimistic.
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I don't think so. His last two seasons have been write-offs for various reasons. I think he will easily revert back to his 19/20 form where he was dominant for Dallas in the playoff bubble.
 
Gotta give credit where credit is due, Klingberg had a good first game. I’d say he was our best defenceman. Hoping more of the same from him. He brings a lot offensively and his skating and size/reach definitely help him defensively.
 
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Sypher04 said:
Literally 1 game and he didn’t even play most of the preseason. Brodie will be fine.
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Right? Guy has been our most reliable d the last 3 years. Underrated doesn't even begin to describe him. He's earned a wait and see approach. All these guys throwing him into trades or wanting to dump him are just gone in the Brain. Look at his advanced stats, guys a solid solid defenseman, hell even if drops off half he's still better than Gio (whom I think he carried when they were partners in Calgary) now...
 
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