Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg is in search of a new contract and a new home, and the Islanders might be able to give him both. They probably should not, though.

Klingberg recently expressed frustration over slow contract negotiations and requested a trade. He is in the final year of a seven-year, $29.75 million contract, making him an unrestricted free agent this summer. Analysts have rumored the Islanders as a potential landing spot. However, I do not understand their reasoning.

Tidbit by @JeffMarek on Klingberg describes Dallas’ efforts to deal the defenseman as “aggressive to get something done soonish.”

The #isles have been previously linked to Klingberg in recent history. Something to keep an eye on. https://t.co/yz8ZFXq49h

— James Nichols (@JamesNicholsNYI) January 16, 2022

Sure, Klingberg would be the team’s second-leading point scorer. He has 17 points in 30 games, four fewer than Mat Barzal. He can drive offense from the back end, something the Islanders desperately need.

However, he has scored only one goal this season, and he has declined steadily since his breakout 2017-2018 season, in which he recorded 67 points. He has not even cracked 50 points since that season. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic certainly hurt his offensive output, but he once looked like he would flourish into a point-per-game defenseman. That narrative has not come to fruition.

He also has trouble in his own end. Since 2020, his Even-Strength Defense production lies in the third percentile, according to JFresh Hockey. Like I wrote about Jakob Chychrun, the Islanders need scoring wingers much more than they need defensemen who do not fit their system.

Klingberg hardly even fits into the Islanders’ lineup. The team already is strong on the right side of their blue line. Ryan Pulock should be returning from injury soon, Scott Mayfield has substituted admirably on the top pair with Adam Pelech, and Noah Dobson has taken major strides in both his offensive and defensive play this season. Klingberg would have to play his off-side if the Islanders brought him in.

The Islanders need wins more than anything right now. They’re 18 points behind the Boston Bruins, who occupy the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. They have to win all five of the games they have in hand, plus the team’s final two meetings in mid-March, then hope they can win two more games than Boston does down the stretch to even have a chance at making the playoffs. Klingberg sits in the 41st percentile in Wins Above Replacement, indicating that he will not bring much to the table to help the Isles achieve their goal.

With the Islanders hardly in the playoff picture, trading away future assets for a defenseman on an expiring contract who can hardly defend sounds like an illogical idea.

Ben Baruch

Born and raised on Long Island. Isles fan since 2009. Studying journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park.