Ducks in the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals - John Klingberg
The 2025 Stanley Cup finals at set! The Florida Panthers are set to face off against the Edmonton Oilers in what was a rematch of last season’s finals. The Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings (6), Vegas Golden Knights (5) and Dallas Stars (5), and the Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning (5), Toronto Maple Leafs (7) and Carolina Panthers (5) to advance back to the finals. Florida, led by Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov bested Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers in a hard fought seven games last year, with McDavid even taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy in the loss.
This year, there are some former Anaheim Ducks who are set to play big minutes in the finals. This is day one of a series that will cover who those players are, how they are playing for their current team and what they did in their time in Anaheim. Though none of Florida or Edmonton’s stars have played for the Ducks, there are some role players who will surely make an impact in the upcoming series. Today’s article is about John Klingberg.
John Klingberg
Starting with the man who played the least amount of games for his team this season, Klingberg is set to be on Edmonton’s third line defenseman alongside Jake Walman, according to Dailyfaceoff.com. The 6-foot-2 defenseman played in 11 games this season, tallying only four points.
Drafted by Dallas in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL Draft, Klingberg had quite a productive stint with the Stars. In his rookie season in 2014-2015, he had 40 points en route to being on the All-Rookie team, finishing fifth in Calder voting as well. Klingberg was never one of the best defensemen in the league, but in the 2017-2018 season, he was named an All-Star with 67 points in 82 games.
Klingberg signed a one year deal with the Ducks after his time in Dallas was finished. In 50 games that season, Klingberg recorded 24 points with a -28 plus minus, however, that might have been due to the Ducks losing 47 games. The team then traded him to the Minnesota Wild right before the 2023 trade deadline, marking the end to his brief time spent in Anaheim.
Klingberg has been a surprising piece for Edmonton in this year’s playoffs, having as many points in the postseason as he did in the regular season. His puck-movement on the back end has helped the Oilers find open goals in the offensive zone.
In a Barn Burner podcast clip, Rhett Warrener said “When he went in and started to play, everything turned around for this team.”
Suffice to say, Klingberg has been a welcomed addition to Edmonton’s playoff roster. While his time in Anaheim was short-lived, he has a chance to win his first title and change the tides of what has been an up-and-down career thus far.
References
HockeyReference.com
DailyFaceoff.com. Edmonton Oilers NHL Line Combinations. https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/edmonton-oilers/line-combinations
X.com. FlamesNation. https://x.com/FlamesNation/status/1928202307205734546
ESPN. Minnesota Wild land D-Man John Klingberg from Anaheim Ducks. https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/35777292/sources-minnesota-wild-land-d-man-john-klingberg-anaheim-ducks
