The Bs were linked to the most prominent names available, like Jakob Chychrun, Hampus Lindholm, Ben Chiarot and John Klingberg. The main focus, of course, was a left shot to play on the top pairing with Charlie McAvoy. Eventually, the Bruins acquired Lindholm from the Anaheim Ducks when the offer for Chychrun was far too much to give up.
As recently reported by Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now, the Bruins are once again linked to one of those other defensemen, who are all free agents come July 1st. Apparently, John Klingberg of the Dallas Stars is still an option for the Bs. The 29-year-old was in the final year of his deal and had reportedly requested a trade earlier in the season.
Murphy discussed how the Bruins need to improve their blue line moving forward while also noting that they have missed Torey Krug's offensive abilities since his departure after the 2019-20 season. While he also made it clear it was all speculation on his part, Klingberg would be the best fit offensively.
Of course, Klingberg would not come cheap in free agency, as he's been one of the NHL's most consistent offensive threats on defence basically since his rookie season in 2014-15. The Stars were an offensively challenged team in the 2021-22 campaign, but the right-shot defenseman still collected 47 points in 74 games.
The Swede will be turning 30 this summer, so the Bruins will have to be careful not to overprice him should they look to sign him. He's certainly a player for management to, at the very least, consider bringing in, but some contracts will have to be moved before they do so.
