Allan Mitchell of The Athletic took a “too early” look at the Edmonton Oilers’ free agency situation and discussed which RFAs and UFAs the team is likely to hang onto. Noting the market values of the players who have expiring contracts, one player’s value wasn’t clear—John Klingberg. Still, Mitchell believes there’s a scenario where the Oilers will rush to get Klingberg re-signed to an extension.
He writes:
“Klingberg is in the “too soon to know” category. If he can successfully fill the hole on the second pairing alongside Darnell Nurse over the next four months, Bowman will move quickly to get an extension done. Five games into Klingberg’s Edmonton career, no one knows how this is going to turn out.”
The idea here seems to be that the Oilers will try to extend Klingberg the moment they think they hit a home run with this player. By signing him to a low-cost contract this season, the team took a relatively consequence-free gamble on a former elite defenseman coming off a serious injury. It wasn’t known what he could produce, but there was a chance that if Klingberg felt like his old self, he could rebound and regain some of the form that made him so coveted.
So far, things have looked good.
The Oilers still don’t really know what they have because, after only a few games, the NHL took a break for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. Klingberg was starting to find a groove and his skating and timing was improving. Games paused at just the wrong time to know if he could keep up his pace without rest.
How Much Does Evan Bouchard Play Into Klingberg Extension Talks?
One aspect of this discussion that could become increasingly important is the market value of Evan Bouchard. Mitchell notes that the defenseman’s current cap hit is $3.9 million, but his market value is potentially as high as $12.1 million based on “supernova levels in 2024-25.”
Mitchell writes, “The Oilers would be wise to sign him long-term this summer, buying restricted and unrestricted seasons through the end of the decade.” Signing Klingberg to a team-friendly deal might help the Oilers in negotiations. If Bouchard is aware that Edmonton has a possible Plan B, the Oilers aren’t backed into a corner, forced to give Bouchard whatever it is he asks for.
Next: NHL Trade Talk Recap: Canucks, Oilers, Jets & Sens
1 Comment
Leave a Reply
More News
Cody Anderson
February 17, 2025 at 12:15 pm
If Bouchard wants more than $8 million I would trade him for a good 2way Dman. I would take another Ekholm type player at 1/2 the cap hit every day of the week over an over priced Bouchard. Klingberg has looked ok so far, but I still don’t think he is the solution to a balanced defence.