Should Red Wings Pursue John Klingberg amid Latest NHL Free Agency Rumors?

It's been a busy start to free agency for the Detroit Red Wings. Since players could begin signing with teams last Wednesday, the Red Wings have wasted no time in improving their roster ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Detroit's most notable move has been the signing of forward Andrew Copp to a five-year contract. The team has also inked deals with forwards David Perron and Dominik Kubalik, while boosting its defense with the additions of Ben Chiarot and Olli Maatta.

However, the Red Wings may not be done. In fact, they could have another big move on the horizon.

John Klingberg remains one of the top unsigned unrestricted free agents on the market, and the 29-year-old defenseman has been linked to Detroit in rumors. Those aren't stopping after the team's recent signing frenzy, either.

Sportsnet's Jeff Marek recently reported that the Carolina Hurricanes were "probably in a position to offer the most term" to Klingberg, but they acquired Brent Burns in a trade with the San Jose Sharks to fill their defensive need. That may have helped set up a future deal between Klingberg and the Red Wings.

"I don’t know if Detroit wants to go really long term with Klingberg, but I still think that as push is starting to come to shove with the defenseman, it feels like Detroit may be the ultimate destination here," Marek said on the 32 Thoughts podcast.

Even after all their early moves, the Red Wings still have $10.296 million in available cap space (per CapFriendly); they likely have the financial flexibility to work out a deal with Klingberg, should they want to.

And they should want to. Klingberg has had a solid eight-year NHL career, all of which had been spent with the Dallas Stars to this point. He's tallied at least 32 points in each of those seasons, and he's coming off a 2021-22 campaign in which he had six goals and 41 assists in 74 games.

Although Klingberg has never played for a team other than the Stars, they haven't shied away from making it known that they're unlikely to bring him back this offseason.

"At the end of the day, we have a salary cap to deal with. It just didn’t work," Dallas assistant general manager Scott White said last week, per The Athletic's Saad Yousuf.

That's why the Red Wings are in a great position to capitalize by continuing their impressive offseason with one more big free-agent signing. Detroit could be in a place to greatly improve during the upcoming season, which should be an appealing situation for Klingberg.

The Red Wings' rumored interest in Klingberg isn't a new development, either. Marek had reported before free agency even began that Detroit (as well as the Seattle Kraken) had shown "various levels of interest" in the defenseman.

It seems to be a good fit for both sides. Now, it's up to the Red Wings to go make a deal happen.