Comments / New

Dallas Stars Daily Links: Everybody Loves John Klingberg

Posted on by Melissa Flandreau

Don’t tell anyone in your fantasy league, but John Klingberg is all set for a great 2015-16 campaign. We already knew that, of course, but both NHL.com and Sportsnet were nice enough to explain why you’d be lucky to have Klingberg on your virtual team (and why the actual Stars feel the same way).

Chris Wassel (of Dobber Hockey) writes at Sportsnet that:

Klingberg was one of the few defencemen in Dallas who handled adversity well. He did a great job under the circumstances. If he hits on special teams as people expect, he could easily top 20 power play points and come close to 20 goals as well.

Projection: 53 points (16 goals)
Floor: 45 points
Ceiling: 60 points

Klingberg will get his chance to be the No. 1 defenceman in Dallas. He will play in all situations. Trevor Daley’s departure means a huge opportunity for an increase in usage. If Klingberg plays all 82 games or close to it, he should surpass the 40 points he got last season.

Meanwhile, Matt Cubeta at NHL.com has this to say about Klingberg’s 2015-16 outlook.

Despite not making his debut until Nov. 11, Klingberg still finished last season with 11 goals, 29 assists, a plus-5, 32 PIMs, 12 PPP and 98 shots in 65 games. Among defensemen with at least 50 games played, his 0.62 points-per-game were tied for 15th best and his 0.17 goals-per-game were tied for 13th best. He had elite per-game rates and with the Stars on the cusp of being a contender, expect Klingberg to develop into an elite offensive defenseman in the NHL for years to come.

Basically, if you were waiting for a sign that you should go all-in on that Klingberg jersey, here it is. Go for it. [NHL]

—

Happy Friday! Just a reminder that the Stars’ first home preseason game is tomorrow, so you can finally get your AAC hockey fix.

Speaking of the preseason, the Stars played their second game last night, and this one was a 6-0 loss to the Blues, with Kari Lehtonen letting in six goals on 30 shots. And again, no need to panic. The team is just getting all of their losses out of the way now, right? (RIGHT?!) Anyway, you can read all about what happened in Erin’s recap and at the link. Except maybe don’t if you want to enjoy your Friday. [Stars]

Meanwhile, as that tire fire was occurring in St. Louis, a few other Stars were off having more fun. This seems like the better option, if we’re being honest.

Elliotte Friedman has a new 30 Thoughts Column for you, and one of those thoughts involves Oscar Klefbom and—you guessed it—John Klingberg. [Sportsnet]

If you’re thinking, hey, I’d like some more thoughts about those 30 Thoughts, I can help you out. [The Score]

What really goes on at Stars Media Day? I’m glad you asked. [Fort Worth Weekly]

Shoutout to Kari Lehtonen for always lending a helping hand.

As we inch closer to the start of the regular season, one of the biggest stories for the Stars is the abundance of defensemen fighting to make the roster. [DMN]

Earlier this week, the WHL released a list of its best players. Tyson Barrie and Jamie Benn were among the top 125, and Barrie shares his thoughts on that. [Times Colonist]

This was brought up in a few comments yesterday, but ICYMI, Sean McIndoe released the second installment about each team’s Stanley Cup prospects. The Stars make an appearance this go-round, slotting in at No. 13. [Grantland]

There was another development in the on-going Patrick Kane investigation last night.

You can read more about the situation at the link. [The Buffalo News]

If you’ve got a little bit of time—by little bit, I mean 14 minutes—check out Sports Illustrated’s short film “Goals, Goons and Garbage” about the Danbury Trashers, the notorious, now-defunct minor-league team. (A warning: There’s a little bit of NSFW language.) [SI]

It seems like Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban is everywhere these days. He sat down with his brothers—Canucks prospect Jordan Subban and Bruins prospect Malcolm Subban—and their father to answer a few questions.

A while back, a youth hockey team and a referee got into a skirmish. The video is now available, and it’s as unbelievable as you might think. [Puck Daddy]

Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh provides a step-by-step guide on how to play with a broken foot. (Hockey players are crazy, you guys.) [Sportsnet]

If Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon ever get tired of being really good at hockey, they both have jobs waiting for them at Tim Hortons.

It looks like 3-on-3 OT is shaping up to be pretty exciting. Until, that is, coaches find a way to take all the fun out of it. [SI]

And finally, you’d think that maybe someone would have double-checked on this. Fortunately, the Great One was a class act about the whole thing.

Talking Points