Klingberg Signs, Adidas Declines, San Jose Enshrines

It’s your Monday Links, News, and Notes

  • John Klingberg gambled in parting ways with agent Peter Wallen to sign on with powerhouse Newport Sports Management last week. Now the UFA defender will have to settle on the rare one-year contract (rare for a marquee free agent anyway) in hopes of re-establishing his market value so he can do it all over again next summer. The Anaheim Ducks get the benefit of at least part of a season of Klingberg’s services without committing to an enigmatic player bound for productive decline in coming years. Given the nature of NHL general managers, Klingberg has long seemed bound for a big payday by virtue of playing defence and shooting from the right side while putting up a lot of assists. He may regret not simply staying put in Dallas though. Has Ottawa may have dodged a bullet here?
  • In leaguewide news, the NHL will have to look for a new uniform manufacturer in two years when their current contract with Adidas expires. While fanbases have differing opinions on manufacturers depending on the era, Adidas will probably have some fans in Ottawa for having (probably totally coincidentally) overseen the return of the 2D Centurion here in the nation’s capital two years ago. Will the next manufacturer bring back the Senagoth?!
  • In “west coast Sens” news, Patrick Marleau (aka west coast Daniel Alfredsson) will see his number hanging from the rafters of the SAP Center (aka west coast Corel Centre) in February 2023. Much like Alfie, Marleau leads his original team in franchise goals and points all-time. Marleau also apparently holds the NHL’s all-time games-played record. I think Alfie also holds this distinction but I’ll have to doublecheck. Something something good small-town Canadian kid.
  • Here in the land of the “east coast Sharks,” Ken Warren posted a write-up on newly-minted Ottawa Senator Mathieu Joseph. Joseph has certainly said all the right things since coming to Ottawa and it seems genuinely really exciting for Joseph to become a role model for young, BIPOC hockey fans and players in the region. As noted in the article, the acquisition of Joseph, along with the emergence of Thomas Chabot as a star defender, and the homecoming of Claude Giroux could do wonders in growing Ottawa’s francophone fanbase in Ontario and Quebec. Regardless of where he fits in Ottawa’s forward depth chart, Joseph really whetted our collective appetite in a small sample of play after coming over at the deadline, and will inject plenty of speed and skill into whichever line he joins.
  • In the land of no soap operas, just hockey, Dominique Ducharme went public in stating that he had a falling out with the management in Montreal over the desired course of the team in 2021-22. I think to an extent, Sens fans can relate as multiple Senators coaches over the past decade got caught in the trap of needing to generate immediate results for job security while working with a roster bound for a five-year rebuild. Either way, I can’t imagine Ducharme remains unemployed at the NHL level too long. Also doesn’t he remind you of Leland Palmer?!
  • And finally, minor hockey associations like the Granby MHA now face the difficult decision as to whether they should continue providing funds to hockey canada in the wake of last week’s findings even if it ultimately could have consequences for young players in their league. While it certainly doesn’t seem palatable to divest from a program that benefits young athletes, hockey canada has proven itself incapable of managing its funds (or itself) in an ethical manner./

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