When John Klingberg signed with the San Jose Sharks yesterday, he did it because he knows he can contribute.
The 32-year-old will get an opportunity to be on the Sharks’ power-play and top-four minutes. In December 2023, Klingberg underwent double hip resurfacing surgery. His last game before surgery was on November 11, 2023, and his first game back was January 30, 2025.
While the new Sharks d-man says he’s the healthiest he’s been in a long time, he is still improving his recovery. Klingberg told reporters that this summer will be the first time in five to six years that he will be able to train fully.
“It is exciting. It’s still going to be a lot of these small things that you do to stay on top of the hips,” Klingberg said. “But being able to actually start building up and train for power, which you need on the ice, and skating the way you want to as well.”
The San Jose Sharks are getting a defenseman who has finished inside the top-six of Norris Trophy voting in his career. He’s been a point producer almost everywhere he’s gone, but injuries derailed his trend to the upper level of NHL stardom.
“At that time, I was a lot younger. I’m a lot older now. I think that I learned throughout the past few years when I’ve been bumping around in different teams and the body has been some kind of a mess, I feel like I gained a lot of experience, knowing that I can play a different game too,” Klingberg explained.
Sharks GM Mike Grier told reporters that he wanted to bring in a puck-moving defenseman to the blue line. Adding Klingberg, who is also right-handed, was a perfect target for the Sharks.
“Klingberg was someone targeted for a little while now. We need someone who can run a power play. He showed he was getting healthier and healthier this year,” Grier said.
Why did Klingberg pick the Sharks over a contending team?
After getting to the Stanley Cup Final with the Edmonton Oilers, Klingberg is shifting gears to join the Sharks.
While it might not be a postseason-bound team on paper, Klingberg knows his role with the San Jose Sharks will benefit both him and the team.
“I think it’s a good fit. I’m very excited with all the young forwards. A lot of skill. That’s exciting, for sure. For myself, I think it’s a great opportunity to come to a younger team, a team that will get better,” Klingberg said. “If I look at myself, I need to play games. I haven’t played many games. I think coming to San Jose, there’s a big opportunity for me to prove that I can still play hockey and play big minutes as well.”
Klingberg played with former Sharks captain Joe Pavelski during his time with the Dallas Stars. He witnessed firsthand the mentorship that Pavelski provided a young Stars team. He wants to return the favor in San Jose.
There is an interesting clause on Klingberg’s one-year contract. The defenseman will have a full no-trade clause through January 30th, 2026. After that date, it’ll change to a 14-team no-trade list.
That provides him with some security and the ability to continue to build up his game strength. The Sharks’ d-man told reporters that returning right before the Four Nations Face-Off hurt him more than helping.
“I don’t think the Four Nations break helped. Coming back and playing five games, then the two-week-long break. I was still skating, but at that time, I would have loved to just keep playing, but that didn’t happen,” Klingberg said. “Then, as we started up after the break, I ended up with an ankle infection. I took a shot off the ankle, and it got infected. I started missing time from that, too. But as we got into the playoffs and I started playing, I really felt like game by game, but especially week by week, it just started to get better and better. I started to feel more comfortable with my new hips.”
Klingberg’s puck-moving ability and playoff experience will be a massive benefit to a Sharks team learning how to win.
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