John Klingberg reveals why he chose the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks

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Dorin Canaday
August 8, 2022 (6:55 PM)

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Defenseman John Klingberg took the hockey world by surprise when he signed a one-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks.

When the UFA fired his agent and joined Newport Sports, many thought that he'd be looking for a significant payday; however, that payday never materialized.

Klingberg's previous agent advised him to turn down an eight-year, $58 million ($7.25 million AAV) contract extension from the Dallas Stars. His agent was certain that the Stars would increase their offer to the range of $8 million per season to keep, but that never happened either.

He ultimately settled on a one-year, $7 million contract with the Ducks, which is a total of $51 million less than he was offered from Dallas.

Now, Klingberg has opened up about why he chose the Ducks and how he sees next year going:

''Going into free agency, we were looking for a long term, that's not a secret. The market is what it is right now, and we had to switch up the tactics a little bit. It's a different market now. That's kind of where we're at, and I understand that. So, it's just going to be up to me to have a good year, to help the team win and help myself to put myself in a good situation moving forward.''

With (Trevor) Zegras and Troy Terry, what they did last year, I think that's exciting for the future. If you look at the signings they (made) in free agency as well, with Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano, I think those are two really good signings. If you look at their D corps with Drysdale, I think it's very exciting too. He's young, and it looks like he can have a real bright future in the league.''

Klingberg will once again be a UFA after next season unless he signs an extension to stay in Anaheim before then. It'll be interesting to see if he and his agent take a new approach to a potential extension in the future.

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