- John Klingberg retired Friday after 700 NHL games and 443 points with six teams
- Three hip surgeries wore him down, and he already has a new job with Swedish broadcaster SVT
- Read below for his full career numbers and what he told SVT about walking away
John Klingberg is done.
The 34-year-old defenseman announced his retirement Friday after 12 NHL seasons and exactly 700 regular season games. Klingberg was asked by Swedish public broadcaster SVT what finally pushed him to stop.
“I feel like as soon as I push myself and be athletic, my body doesn’t want to anymore. When you give so much, but don’t feel like you’re getting anything back. Eventually the motivation runs out.”
The NHLPA put out the announcement Friday morning:
Three hip surgeries did most of the damage. Klingberg said he leaned on injections, anti-inflammatories and painkillers to keep playing, and the last operation never gave him the body he was hoping for.
Nobody signed him this summer, either. He sat on the open market from July through the start of September while camps crept closer.
Check out the league’s sendoff:
Dallas found him in the fifth round of the 2010 draft, 131st overall, and got eight seasons out of him. Klingberg made the NHL All-Rookie Team in 2014-15 with 40 points in 65 games, then hit a career-high 67 points in 2017-18 and played in the All-Star Game that season.
His 374 points with the Stars rank third all-time among defensemen in Dallas/Minnesota North Stars history. Klingberg finished with 443 points in 700 regular season games and 43 points in 82 playoff games, 21 of which came in 26 games during the Stars’ run to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.
Sweden got plenty out of him too. He won back-to-back World Championship gold in 2017 and 2018 and was named the tournament’s top defenseman the second time around.
The next job is already lined up. SVT hired Klingberg as its new hockey expert, where he’ll cover the SHL on Hockeykväll and work national team broadcasts including the World Juniors and the Euro Hockey Tour.
Klingberg told the network the television side is something he has wanted for a while.
“It feels very inspiring, actually. It’s something that I’ve thought I could do well moving forward in life when I’m done with hockey. So I’m very excited to get this chance.”
Six sweaters in all, and five of them came in the last four years:
The Ducks, Wild, Maple Leafs, Oilers and Sharks all got a piece of the back half. The eight years in Dallas are what the record book will remember.
