Oilers coach Paul Coffey has high praise for new defenceman John Klingberg
PUBLICATION
Ryan Hall
January 30, 2025 (9:59 PM)
The Edmonton Oilers are looking forward to seeing their newest acquisition John Klingberg step out onto the ice as he is looking forward to his new start after undergoing invasive double hip surgery.
John Klingberg makes his Oilers debut tonight vs. DET.
The 32-year-old slick puck moving defenseman had had been looking for a new home over the past couple of weeks after announcing that he will be ready to play again and to resume his career which perked up the ears of many teams including the Oilers.
Klingberg has much to prove in his NHL return
«It's nice moving back into the hotel where I spent almost 70 nights (JW Marriott),» laughed Klingberg.
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John Klingberg was on the ice today for his first #Oilers practice
The signing of Klingberg was a clear no brainer as he mentions to the Oilers as the Oilers have demonstrated that they are a perennial playoff and Stanley Cup contender. With a renewed sense of freedom being able to play pain free for the first time since he was 21 years old, Klingberg feels the Oilers are the right fit for him.
«You look up and down their lineup, you see how close they were last year (to winning) and there was mutual interest before this. I had really good talks with Stan (Bowman), Kris (Knoblauch) and Paul (Coffey),» said Klingberg, who also reportedly had interest from the Leafs and Ottawa.
"We're all excited to have him... We gotta have some patience & understand that he's been out for a long time & it's gonna take some time to get back to his old ways." Mattias Ekholm on John Klingberg making his #Oilers debut tonight. Klingberg possesses some great attributes including being a right-handed shot, a large frame and many years of experience in the NHL especially in the playoffs as he has gone to the NHL Stanley Cup finals himself. He describes the ability to play pain free.
«The motion (skating) I have now is better than I've ever had. No pain, which is
exciting. Pain has always been there but I was able to play through it. Yet over the last few years, it got worse and worse. It got to where I was thinking I could never play another 80 games (season). That's when we decided to go down that (surgery) road. I'm happy I did. - John Klingberg Oilers defenseman
Coffey elated to have Klingberg in his defense
Assistant coach Paul Coffey spoke about the addition of Klingberg to his defense and he had absolutely nothing but great things to say about the acquisition.
«You can't teach talent, you can work with it and I'm looking forward to doing that,» said Coffey. «He's obviously got it (veteran skill). It's not like we're bringing in a kid who's spent four years in the OHL or a kid out of college. This is a seasoned veteran, he's played under high pressure, played important games.» - Paul Coffey Assistant coach
Coffey also spoke about never having enough puck moving defensemen in the lineup and with Klingberg involved it will give the Oilers defence a different look an more versatility likely in their transition game.
«You can probably never have enough of either but you can definitely not have enough puck-movers, Coffey said. «Whether you've got Connor (McDavid) or Leon (Draisaitl) up front, the key to success is getting the puck out of your end as quickly as possible, and that doesn't mean a dump or a rim. It's getting back quickly, and having the right intellect to put the puck on somebody's stick. He can do that.»
It's safe to say the Oilers are quite happy with his addition but he still has some time to figure out how his game will shake out now that he has rid of the ailment that has plaguing him for all his career.
Source: Edmonton Journal
John Klingberg has something to prove with the Edmonton Oilers
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