FRISCO, Texas – John Klingberg admitted Tuesday that he would prefer to stay with the Dallas Stars, with whom he spent the first eight seasons of his career, even if he could test the free agent market on July 13.
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“At the end of the day, I always wanted to stay here,” Klingberg said Tuesday, two days after his team was eliminated in Game 7 against the Calgary Flames in the first round. “It’s obviously the only team I’ve talked to. [Le directeur général Jim Nill] and our clan are trying to find a way to get along. The number of years, the salary, we want to reach an agreement that will please both parties. »
Klingberg is in the final season of a seven-year contract he signed on April 17, 2015. Selected by the Stars in the fifth round (131st overall) in the 2010 draft, the 29-year-old defenseman has 374 points (71 goals , 303 assists) in 552 NHL games. He also added 35 points (seven goals, 28 assists) in 59 playoff games.
Nill had also claimed his desire to get along with Klingberg.
“Oh, I would love to keep his services,” the GM had said before Game 3 against the Flames.
“John has the opportunity to test the free agent market and I don’t blame him,” Nill said Tuesday. He must think of his family. He will see what the market looks like, and it will be the same for us. Then we will see if there is an agreement that can suit both parties. Everything will depend on the terms and the salary. He knows his worth, I know his worth. He earned that right and I give him all the credit. »
Video: TOR @ DAL: Klingberg compliment Pavelski en AN
Klingberg’s contract is one of the many issues awaiting Nill this offseason. Coach Rick Bowness’ two-year contract expires at the end of the season, among other things.
“Playoffs bring out the passion,” Bowness said. The excitement, the pressure and everything else. That’s what we live for and that’s why we do this job. I still have the flame in me. »
The 67-year-old hockey man was named Stars head coach on Dec. 10, 2019, replacing Jim Montgomery. Nill acknowledged that Bowness has faced a lot of adversity in taking on the role, which includes a season cut short due to COVID-19, a two-plus month run in bubbles to the Stanle Cup final , as well as a shortened and condensed season, again because of the pandemic.
“He handled the situation very well,” Nill said. We got 98 points this year. It’s a good season. So he did a good job. We will sit down [avec les propriétaires] and reassess all of that in the next five or six days. »
For his part, Bowness maintains that he is not ready for retirement, even if he is not offered the possibility of being behind the bench in Dallas next season. The pilot has a 212-351-28 record and 48 ties in 12 seasons as a coach with the Winnipeg Jets, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes and Stars , and 26-23 in 49 playoff games.
« [La Coupe Stanley] is still what drives me,” Bowness said. But as you get older, you also want to have an impact on the sport, and that legacy becomes just as important to me. Do I want a Cup? Absolutely. Is this what will define me? No. Impacting the lives of my players and not just being a coach, trying to make them better means a lot more to me than a name on the Cup. »
Separately, the Stars also provided several injury updates. The center Roope Hintz missed Game 7 of Round 1 with a torn obliques, center Tyler Seguin suffered a broken foot in Game 1 and center Luke Glendening suffered a knee injury and suffered concussion symptoms after being checked by the defender Nikita Zadorov in Game 6.
None of these players will need major surgery and each should be healthy for the start of the next season.
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