After turbulent end with Stars, John Klingberg’s comeback with Oilers lands in Dallas

The Dallas Stars will face a familiar opponent when they take the ice for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday.

The Stars and the Edmonton Oilers were in this spot one year ago, having battled in last season’s conference finals, a series Edmonton won 4-2.

In this year’s rematch, however, there’s one face on the Oilers that will take the familiarity to a new level: former longtime Stars defenseman John Klingberg.

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Klingberg spent eight seasons in Dallas after being selected by the Stars in the fifth round of the 2010 draft. Since leaving, he’s become a journeyman player with stops in Anaheim, Toronto, Minnesota and now is in his first season with the Oilers.

And it hasn’t exactly been an easy one for Klingberg. Now 32, he battled through a long-term recovery from 2023 hip surgery and didn’t sign with the Oilers until January of this season.

“I’m so happy for John,” said Stars’ general manager Jim Nill, who oversaw Klingberg’s NHL debut with Dallas in 2014. “John and I have a great relationship, he was a big part of the team for many years here. Saw him develop as a young player. Situations happened, but we’ve always maintained a great relationship.”

The “situations” Nill referred to would be the less-than-harmonious way Klingberg’s time with the Stars ended. In his final season with Dallas in 2022, talks of a long-term contract extension never really got off the ground, with Klingberg at one point saying he didn’t “feel that [he] was appreciated” with the way the Stars were negotiating. There were reports Klingberg demanded a trade, which the defenseman said “weren’t entirely true.”

“I’m not going to lie, it’s been a few frustrating years,” Klingberg said in 2022. “I’ve been a Dallas Star since Day 1. I’ve been pretty clear that I want to stay here. I grew up here. I had my daughter here and all that.”

Complicating matters was the fact that Dallas had a pair of up-and-coming defensemen in Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley ready to take the blue line torch from Klingberg. The Gothenburg, Sweden, native played his last game in Dallas in the 2022 playoffs. He signed a one-year deal with Anaheim that summer.

After bouncing from the Ducks to the Wild to the Maple Leafs, Klingberg suffered an injury that required hip surgery. Between the Leafs and the Oilers, he’s played in only 25 regular-season games the past two seasons.

And yet, somehow, Klingberg has made a positive impact in the playoffs with Edmonton, with three assists and a plus-minus of five entering the series against the Stars.

“Excited for Klinger, excited to see what he’s doing out there” said former teammate Tyler Seguin, who knows plenty about long-term absence due to hip surgery. “It’s hard, especially the adjustment part. … We all just love the game so we just want to be a part of it, part of the emotions. That’s just what you miss when you’re out, and what you appreciate when you’re back.”

It’s made for a remarkable comeback for Klingberg, and a storyline to watch as the Stars and Oilers drop the puck on their WCF rematch.

Klingberg, though, might have something to watch out for, too.

“As friends, what he’s been through, he’s put in a lot of hard work to get back,” said Stars captain Jamie Benn, who played with Klingberg for eight seasons. “Can’t wait to try and run him.”

Twitter: @coylio33

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