Klingberg took over 2 weeks into free agency to sign, Kadri still available; here's why
Much has been made about UFAs Nazem Kadri and John Klingberg holding up the line when it comes to the remaining free agents. Earlier today, we saw one of those pieces finally move, as Klingberg inked a 1-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks worth $7M. Now we're waiting on Kadri.
So what's with the hold-up? Well, it was originally thought that both Kadri and Klingberg were highly coveted pieces and that maybe there was a bidding war going on and that teams were working on freeing up cap space to ink the respective free agents to lofty new deals. As it turns out, the truth is far more simple.
Per a report from John Shannon, both Kadri and Klingberg came into free agency with demands that were far too lofty for most teams, forcing them to turn their attention elsewhere.
With Klingberg electing to forego his final long-term contract for one more season to try to boost his value this year to cash in next summer when perhaps one of his desired locations has more cap space to work with.
Kadri seems to be a bit of a different scenario, as there have been reports in the last couple of weeks that the Avalanche are looking to offload a contract to be able to afford to bring Kadri back for a run at another Cup.
With Klingberg officially off the board, we should begin to see the market for defensemen pick up shortly, whether that means through trades or some of the remaining UFA's.
