Which D partner is the right fit for John Klingberg in Toronto?
When the Leafs signed John Klingberg on day one of free agency on July 1st, there were plenty of puzzled looks on the faces of Leafs Nation. After all, Klingberg wasn't a primary need and while the team could benefit from some addition offense from the blueline, they didn't need to replace Justin Holl with someone who is equally frustrating in the defensive zone.
Klingberg is known for his ability to walk the line in the offensive zone to open up shooting lanes and provide some supplementary offense. His work in the D zone leaves a lot to be desired and his negative takeaway to giveaway ratio is evidence of that. He's also not the most physical defenseman around, which could create some issues when it comes time to try to move guys away from the front of the net.
Needless to say, the Leafs will have to find a way to make this all work, now that Klingberg is signed through this season at $4.15M. The real question is, who is the best fit to play alongside Klingberg this season, at least to start?
Down the left side, the Leafs currently have Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe and the veteran and shot blocking record-holder Mark Giordano. Obviously, when you take into account that Rielly and Klingberg play a similar game and like to jump in on offense, but who are also not the most apt defenders in their own end, I'd pretty much rule them out of spending much time together, if any at all, save for maybe the odd power play. So, that leaves McCabe and Giordano.
With Klingberg earning more than $4M next season, it's likely that the Leafs envision him as a top-4 defenseman. They had a chance to save a little cap space, simply by re-upping Justin Holl at his $3.4M, but they opted to pay Klingberg a little more for the added offensive potential. With Holl playing much of last season in a top-4 role, that appears to be where the team may be leaning for Klingberg to play during training camp.
Given the fact that Giordano will be 40 years old when the season begins, I don't think he'll be challenging Jake McCabe, 29, for that 2nd pairing LD spot, so I'd imagine we'll see Klingberg and McCabe paired together at camp. However, I suspect that we could still see Giordano and Klingberg paired together in certain situations as well, given Gio's penchant for shot blocking and aggressiveness in front of his own net. Also, playing Klingberg with Giordano on occasion may help the Leafs to shelter him a bit, playing him lower down in the lineup to hopefully create some mismatches in the offensive zone.
There also exists the opportunity to play Morgan Rielly and Jake McCabe together, as McCabe can play both the left and right side, which would open up T.J. Brodie to shift over to the left and play alongside Klingberg to help cover up any of his defensive inefficiencies. We know that Sheldon Keefe isn't shy about using 7 defensemen, so there will certainly be an opportunity for the Leafs to get a number of different looks with Klingberg, who may end up playing more of a "rover" role for the Buds this season.
Training camp is going to tell us a lot about how the Leafs plan to utilize Klingberg. I'm not sure we're going to see him with any set partner this year, but if I had to put my money on who his partner will be to start the season, I'd probably say that McCabe has the best chance of starting the season to the left of Klingberg. Of course, that could all change if/when Leafs GM Brad Treliving adds another body on the blueline, as he had indicated after signing Klingberg, Reaves, Domi and Bertuzzi. We'll just have to wait and see how it all unfolds.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 16 | 216 ANSWERS Which D partner is the right fit for John Klingberg in Toronto? Who would you pair with Klingberg this season? | ||
| Rielly | 21 | 9.7 % |
| Giordano | 48 | 22.2 % |
| McCabe | 109 | 50.5 % |
| Brodie | 38 | 17.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
