John Klingberg Has Norris Trophy Potential

John Klingberg in Future Norris Trophy Conversations?

John Klingberg broke onto the scene in Dallas last season with an impressive rookie campaign that saw him put up 40 points in 65 games. That was after starting the season with AHL Texas, where he produced 12 points in 10 games. Klingberg was originally a fifth-round pick taken 131st overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

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During his rookie season, John Klingberg managed to outscore fellow Calder Trophy winner Aaron Ekblad of the Florida Panthers while playing 16 less games. Ekblad is that rare breed of shutdown d-man with high-end offensive abilities. Aaron Ekblad should find himself in consideration for the Norris Trophy for years to come. The only comparison I can draw to John Klingberg is fellow Swede Erik Karlsson in Ottawa. Klingberg is slightly better in the defensive zone, and on special teams than Karlsson, but his Sens counterpart has a slightly higher offensive upside.

Erik Karlsson broke into the NHL back in 2009-10 with Ottawa and produced 26 points in 60 games his rookie season. John Klingberg outscored Karlsson by 14 points with only 5 more games played. In Karlsson’s second season, he managed 45 points over 75 games, which seems like a number John Klingberg could easily match, if not exceed in his sophomore season. Klingberg already has two points in three games with the Dallas Stars to open 2015-2016.

Back in mid-April, the Stars signed John Klingberg to a 7-year extension with an annual cap hit of $4.25 million. The fairly cheap extension will likely make for one of the best valued contracts in the NHL moving forward.

Dallas Morning News released an article back in August, and were asked which young player they were most excited to see heading into the season:

"Rick Gosselin of Dallas Morning News: Klingberg. He can be this generation’s Zubov. He’s a future all-star. That’s why the Stars gave him that big contract this summer. This kid can be special on the blue line — and this blue line hasn’t been special for a long time. Especially if the Stars pair him with Oduya, a defensive defenseman. He can mind the store and allow Klingberg to be a free-wheeler in the offensive end."

A generation of great young defense have been pouring out of Sweden the past decade after a storied career by Nicklas Lidstrom in Detroit. Lidstrom won seven Norris Trophies between 2000-01 to 2010-11, with six of the seven coming in consecutive years between 2000-01 and 2007-08. Including Erik Karlsson’s two Norris Trophies in the past four years, that’s nine of the last 14 being split between Swedish players Erik Karlsson and Nicklas Lidstrom.

Mar 30, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg (3) skates against the Calgary Flames during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Flames defeated the Stars 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Truth be told, the NHL is littered with excellent Swedish defenseman that have followed in the footsteps of Swedish great Nicklas Lidstrom. Niklas Kronwall was fortunate enough to play alongside and learn from the Detroit great before Lidstrom retired. Other noteable Swedes in the NHL are Vancouver’s Alex Edler, Winnipeg’s Tobias Enstrom, Tampa’s Victor Hedman, Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson, New Jersey’s Adam Larsson, the list goes on. Lidstrom paved the way for a generation of excellent young Swedish defenseman.

Dallas is better situated than most teams in the NHL with a wealth of depth down in AHL Texas, along with one of the better top-six’s in hockey. They’ve also a group of young defenseman with the big club and in the minors that look poised to be a dangerous defensive group in a year or two. When you’ve got a team that can produce offensively like the Stars, the good news is that a lot of those goals start in the defensive zone.

Don’t be surprised when John Klingberg is being talked about in Norris Trophy conversations at times over the next decade. With the offensive upside he possesses from the back-end, it’s conceivable that Klingberg could be in Norris talks each and every season for many years to come.

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