3 Free Agent Destinations For Oilers' Klingberg

The Edmonton Oilers saw some great play by John Klingberg for most of the playoffs, but the Stanley Cup Final wasn't his best. He came off a more serious injury and signed with Edmonton this season. He isn't the player that turned down the massive contract with the Dallas Stars a few years ago, but he also isn't the player that we saw with the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs as he was dealing with an injury.

The Oilers won't be able to keep Klingberg as their defense is full and the team doesn't have cap room. This will see him hit free agency in less than two weeks with a likely handful of teams looking to sign him. These are three that we should keep an eye on.

Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings need to make changes to the right side. Moritz Seider is great, but Jeff Petry will be gone in free agency and Justin Holl should be bought out. Axel Sandin Pellikka should play the majority of the season in the NHL, but even if he does, there is still a role to fill. Klingberg can play either second or third pairing as he showed in Edmonton this season. The ability to play both would play well into how the team will utilize Sandin Pellikka. Klingberg is a strong puck moving defenseman and would be a solid short-term addition, maybe around 2-3 years. It could pay off for the Red Wings who are trying to get back in the playoffs. Steve Yzerman has to make some moves as he's being questioned about how the team hasn't turned around yet.

Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators are free of Travis Hamonic's contract and have a spot on the right side that should be filled this offseason. While Nikolas Matinpalo did fine for the 41 games he played, he didn't average over 13 minutes per game and wasn't trusted. The right side could have issues quickly if Artme Zub and Nick Jensen miss the time they did again next season. Klingberg is the type of defenseman who could play more minutes if asked of him and allow for the Senators to create different duos on the back-end next season. They are trying to get back to the playoffs, not take a step back. Klingberg will be cheap enough that he makes sense as a target.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets may not get a deal done with Ivan Provorov, but are looking at signing Dante Fabbro to a long-term deal. The team is running out of time for both as free agency is quickly approaching. Jordan Harris and Jake Christiansen aren't at the level where the Blue Jackets should be comfortable playing them as everyday defensemen. There is plenty of cap room to bring in a better player. While Columbus may swing higher, there are only a certain number of better defensemen that other teams will also be targeting. Klingberg isn't going to be their top choice, but he could be a fit if other options don't play out well.