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

TheTotalPackage said:
Man, at worst I was expecting him to be how Barrie was for us. Sadly, that's what we're getting. I can live with his defensive deficiencies if he provided big offence. But he can't even do that. Why Keefe keeps rolling him out as PP1QB is beyond me. That's on him (Keefe).
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Maybe to try to get him going? He did the same with Barrie.

I mean he needs to try to find a use for him... if it doesn't work, eventually he needs to be sent to Marlies
 
Yeah he had a good first couple of games but he's been pretty terrible since, our D injuries don't help matters since Gio-Klinger is way out of their depth as a second pairing. But I watched a lot of Klingberg last year and even though he's a good passer and can sometimes make good plays with the puck, he just looked horrible every time and I was never happy about this signing. I honestly think Timmins is pretty slept on and could do a better job in the same role.
 
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As a guy who loved Klingberg many years, this is sad to see. It looks to me like age and injuries have taken away what made him special. He used to have fantastic lateral movement and agility. He was never fast, but he could make effortless adjustments that make him dangerous with the puck and also made him a good enough defender.

But he's so stiff legged now.
 
SprDaVE said:
You've never been wrong before around here? Feeling good this morning?

I was optimistic and I've been wrong before. Not enough offence to justify the brutal defensive play. Congrats, you were (probably) right.
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Look, good on you for admitting you were wrong but I'd hold off on That. Season is young. I'm calling it now dude is gonna blast a puck in the dying minutes of playoff game to tie the game or walk the line in overtime and blast a puck for the winner and all this November talk will be dust in the wind.
 
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Troy McClure said:
As a guy who loved Klingberg many years, this is sad to see. It looks to me like age and injuries have taken away what made him special. He used to have fantastic lateral movement and agility. He was never fast, but he could make effortless adjustments that make him dangerous with the puck and also made him a good enough defender.

But he's so stiff legged now.
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Yeah idk about that his lateral movement is still fantastic, he can freeze with the puck and make really effective twists and turns with his hips. He just has zero understanding of how to position on D, makes very ill-timed pinches and doesn't stand on the right spot on the blueline to deter the opposing team's breakout, and then because he's not fleet of foot gets burned going the other way. And then in the D zone he just spends the whole time looking over his shoulders while drifting aimlessly out of the play.
 
$4M was always too much, but I still don’t think the signing of Klingberg in theory was a bad one. He brings a lot of qualities we need. Acquiring a player like him, it’s on the team to insulate him defensively which we haven’t done. As a sheltered third pair offensive producer he can work, as a top 4 D? We cannot do that. Signing Klingberg for less money would have been fine, but it was a half measure and Treliving didn’t provide the type of D needed around him to ensure he doesn’t become a liability.
 
SprDaVE said:
Just waive him now. Don't prolong it. If he clears, keep him up while Timmins and Liljegren are out.

If he's picked up, you just opened 4M of cap space.
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Yeah considering Klingberg has a 10 team NTC and one of those teams is probably Calgary (while the Zadorov/Tanev smoke continues to build), if the team wants to make it easier to offload his salary (no one will waiver claim him), they basically have to intentionally sour the relationship to the point where Klingberg would rather be on any one of the other 31 teams.

Banishing him to the AHL could be the first step towards that.
 
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SprDaVE said:
Just waive him now. Don't prolong it. If he clears, keep him up while Timmins and Liljegren are out.

If he's picked up, you just opened 4M of cap space.
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Yeah just waive him. When you’re that far on the other side of replacement level player you may as well just run Benn, Mete, Hollowell last year and at least have some professionalism.
 
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The defensive play being what it is, it's unfortunate that the production seems to have dried up.
 
I am so confused how he went from the player he was in Dallas to this. I’ve watched every game so far and my assessment is this:
-big but not physical
-limited mobility
-seems lost in the defensive zone
-constant hesitation with moving the puck and the forecheckers are jumping on him
-forcing plays constantly

Another weird thing that I’ve noticed is, just in general, his pass accuracy is horrible. It’s not often that this kind of thing is noticeable because players are so good at accepting passes off their skates, that are behind them, etc. but even when he is making a cross-ice pass to his D partner with no one near him, he is not hitting the tape. This is bound to slow down the offence and cause turnovers.
 
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Troy McClure said:
As a guy who loved Klingberg many years, this is sad to see. It looks to me like age and injuries have taken away what made him special. He used to have fantastic lateral movement and agility. He was never fast, but he could make effortless adjustments that make him dangerous with the puck and also made him a good enough defender.

But he's so stiff legged now.
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I watched him on the Dallas run and agreed he used to be so much better than this. And aside from the casual/lazy straight leg skating it looks like he left his brain somewhere moving from Dallas to Anaheim to Minnesota to Toronto. I feel like I would be that confused playing in the NHL at that speed.
 
wired14 said:
I am so confused how he went from the player he was in Dallas to this. I’ve watched every game so far and my assessment is this:
-big but not physical
-limited mobility
-seems lost in the defensive zone
-constant hesitation with moving the puck and the forecheckers are jumping on him
-forcing plays constantly

Another weird thing that I’ve noticed is, just in general, his pass accuracy is horrible. It’s not often that this kind of thing is noticeable because players are so good at accepting passes off their skates, that are behind them, etc. but even when he is making a cross-ice pass to his D partner with no one near him, he is not hitting the tape. This is bound to slow down the offence and cause turnovers.
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I can’t tell if Klingberg’s skating issues are physical or mental because half the time it seems like he doesn’t know where he’s supposed to get to and the other half he doesn’t want to get there first.

I also notice the puck spraying on casual puck touches like he’s playing with the end of a broomstick or something.

There’s decline like Giordano where he’s just getting older and slower and there’s less power to his game and then there’s just Klingberg like he got a lobotomy.
 
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Reaves and Klingberg should definitely be scratched.

Gregor - Kampf - Holmberg

Run that as the fourth line.

Hopefully Reaves’ big ego being scratched makes him ask for a trade.
 
Leafs at Knight said:
Haha
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This post is as bright as you, 13 is the new 82, eh? Especially when your number 3, 4 and 6 D are hurt and replaced by 2 AHL defenders and a 40 year old Giordano. Klingberg is playing out his strength against tougher competition because Brodie and Giordano lost steps, and McCabe, Liljegren and Timmins are all hurt.

Klingberg needs to play better but he is playing 17 even strength minutes a night (last season Rielly and McCabe averaged 17 EVS minutes).

If after 40-50 games he is playing like this with a healthy D core, then it is cause for concern.
 
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