Leafs' Sweden trip caused injury setback to Klingberg: report
For anyone who’s followed the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, the struggles of John Klingberg have been on full display.
Signing in Toronto on a one-year, $4.15 million deal, the 31-year-old defenceman hasn’t played in either of the team’s last two games while dealing with an unknown nagging injury.
And according to hockey insider Chris Johnston, the injury didn’t exactly get better while travelling with the team to Sweden for a pair of games in Klingberg’s home country.
While a lineup return was possible, Klingberg left midway through Saturday’s practice and did not play in either of Toronto’s games in Sweden.
“The John Klingberg situation is tough. He has tried to play through his injury; it’s not to say he won’t continue to, but obviously the results haven’t been good. He can’t move as well on the ice as he once did when he had his best seasons; he doesn’t have a lot of security in terms of just being on a one-year deal with Toronto,” Johnston said on an episode of The Athletic’s Leafs Report.
In 14 games this season, Klingberg has registered five assists in 20:33 of ice time per night, but he’s been on the ice for 19 goals against in the process, an average of 1.35 per night.
“Apparently his issues were made even worse by being on a couple of long flights heading over to Sweden and back. So I don’t know where that one ends up. I think you have a player there that is very proud; he gave an emotional scrum while we were in Stockholm just talking about how he just so badly wants to play again and get to a spot where he can do that,” Johnston added.
As for what’s next for Klingberg and the Leafs, the answers aren’t exactly apparent to Johnston.
“I don’t know if he is going to be able to [play for Toronto], to me that is the big question, and depending if he can or can’t then I think the decision flows from there. If can’t, he is probably going to be on long-term injured reserve and might free up some cap space for the Leafs to look into some other things,” Johnston added.
The Leafs next play Friday evening when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks for an 2 pm ET puck drop, to coincide with the day after American Thanksgiving.
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