John Klingberg is looking to become the next defenceman to land a big deal in the off-season.
The Dallas Stars defenceman wants to cash in like Dougie Hamilton, Seth Jones and Darnell Nurse, who all earned massive long-term extensions, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reported during Saturday’s 32 Thoughts segment on Hockey Night in Canada.
“The Dallas Stars and general manager Jim Nill want John Klingberg to stay, and John Klingberg wants to remain a member of the Dallas Stars. But in contract negotiations like this, I guess it’s always safe to say the devil is in the decimal point,” Marek explained. “… I can safely report that what he’s looking for is something in the neighbourhood of an eight-year contract in the mid-60s, so something between $62 million to maybe $66 million.”
The 29-year-old is in the final season of his seven-year, $29 million deal. Klingberg was selected in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL Draft and has recorded 327 points in 479 career games.
Klingberg’s best season with the Stars was 2017-18, when he had 67 points in 82 games. He was also a big contributor when Dallas made a run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, with 21 points in 26 games.
The Stars locked up Miro Heiskanen to an eight-year contract worth $67.6 million this past off-season and have Esa Lindell locked up until the 2024-25 season. As Marek noted, Dallas made it a point to address the blue line and potentially prepare for a situation where Klingberg leaves in free agency by signing Ryan Suter and Jani Hakanpää to three-year deals.
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