The 2023 free agent frenzy has been open for over five hours now and while the Leafs did not make any additional signings apart from Ryan Reaves for a while, Brad Treliving is quickly picking up the pace by announcing a number of signings in the past hour.
After seeing Justin Holl and Luke Schenn sign elsewhere, John Klingberg is being brought in as defensive reinforcement.
🖊 We’ve signed defenceman John Klingberg to a one-year contract
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 1, 2023
According to the press release, the AAV of the one-year contract comes in at $4.15 million.
Klingberg is not as highly sought after as he once was due to a number of injuries that have limited his appearances over the past five seasons, but the Leafs clearly think he will be an upgrade over the likes of Erik Gustavsson and Connor Timmins while slotting onto the second power-play unit. He is also good for at least 30 points or more as a defenceman, which was an area of weakness for the Leafs last season.
He split this past season between the Ducks and Wild where he combined to produce 10 goals, 23 assists, and 33 points in 67 games while adding four points (one goal and three assists) in four playoff games.
It’s hard to envision that this will be the only significant move the Leafs make today, so it will be interesting to see who else they bring in as the opening day of the fire sale continues.
Stats from Hockey-Reference.com and StatMuse.
