Sheldon Keefe admits to concerns about Klingberg: The Leafs need to get him off of this team
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in real trouble. Yes, it's early, with the team having only played 13 games, but their 6-5-2 record doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, especially if you've watched the games. The team has had to play from behind much of the time and has surrendered an abnormally large number of goals in comparison to, well, the last 4 decades, really.
John Klingberg was always going to be a defensive liability. We knew this coming into the season. However, I don't think anyone could have prepared Leafs Nation for just how bad he'd actually be.
Last season, Klingberg was one of the worst defensive defensemen in the league, but a lot of that was attributed to playing in Anaheim. However, we're quickly finding out that last year wasn't a fluke and, as surprising as it sounds, Klingberg is even worse this season than he was in Anaheim last year.
Sheldon Keefe admitted after last night's game that he is legitimately worried about Klingberg's game right now. When pressed for what needs to change to help produce better results, Keefe told the media that the team needs to do a better job of protecting the veteran defenseman.
In my opinion, the Leafs need to cut ties with Klingberg as soon as humanly possible. He wasn't able to play his way out of a poor season in 2022-23 and he's not going to be able to play his way out of a poor season in 2023-24. This season is too important for the Leafs and Klingberg is not only a -8, but also looks lost on 90% of his shifts.
Last season, the Leafs were among the top defensive teams in the league, even before adding the likes of Jake McCabe and Luke Schenn. When you compare last year's D corps to this year's D corps, it's largely similar. Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano and Timothy Liljegren were all on that team. Only instead of Jake McCabe and John Klingberg, the Leafs had Rasmus Sandin and Justin Holl in the fold.
I really don't see a way out of this mess while Klingberg is on the team. The main issue here is that moving him, given how bad he's been to start the year, will likely cost the Leafs an asset, such as a pick or a prospect. Klingberg carries a $4.15M cap hit, which not a lot of teams can afford to take on - and the teams that can will want something for helping the Leafs out.
The other issue here is that Brad Treliving gave Klingberg a 10-team no-trade list, so moving him to a bottom-feeder may not be so easy, as many of the league's bottom-feeders may be on his no-trade list.
I'm sorry to say it, folks, but we're quickly approaching the point of declaring the Klingberg addition as the worst mistake of the summer.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 9 | 353 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe admits to concerns about Klingberg: The Leafs need to get him off of this team Would you be ok with the Leafs trading a good prospect to rid themselves of Klingberg's contract? | ||
| Yes, just get him out of Toronto | 148 | 41.9 % |
| No, we need our prospects | 72 | 20.4 % |
| Depends heavily on the prospect | 133 | 37.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
