Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman John Klingberg of Gothenburg, Sweden is out for the rest of the season as he is soon expected to have hip surgery according to TSN on Wednesday. Klingberg has not played for the Maple Leafs since Toronto beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on November 11.
Klingberg’s 2023-24 NHL statistics
So far this season, Klingberg had five assists in 14 games and was a -7. He had eight penalty minutes, with two power play points, 14 shots on goal, 14 blocked shots, 11 hits, seven takeaways, and 12 giveaways.
Klingberg’s power-play points (both power-play assists) came in Maple Leafs wins. The first came on October 11, 2023, in a 6-5 Toronto win over the Montreal Canadiens. Klingberg had the primary helper on a goal by William Nylander with 45 seconds left in the second period, which put Toronto up 3-1 at the time. The second power-play point came on October 24, 2023, in a 4-1 Toronto win over the Washington Capitals. Klingberg helped set up Auston Matthews of San Ramon, California, with four minutes and 53 seconds left in the second period, and put Toronto up 4-0 at the time.
Struggled mightily defensively the last three seasons
The one-year deal worth $4.15 million that Klingberg signed with the Maple Leafs on July 1 was heavily criticized by many and considered a questionable signing by new Maple Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving. That is because Klingberg was an awful -28 on a very good Dallas Stars team in 2021-22, and was not any better defensively last season, as he was a -25 while sharing his time with the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild. Then in 2023-24, Klingberg was on pace to being a -35 with the Maple Leafs. Only four players had a worse plus/minus than -35 last season.
Eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference
The Maple Leafs have a record of 12 wins, six regulation losses and four losses in extra time for 28 points. They have the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
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