John Klingberg’s playoff run with the Edmonton Oilers has been nothing short of a remarkable comeback story.

The 32-year-old underwent hip surgery in December 2023, and after a lengthy rehab, the Oilers signed him back in January to a one-year deal. While he posted four points in 11 regular-season games, his play had its ups and downs as he worked to shake off the rust. He also missed the last 10 games of the regular season after an ankle injury. Given the combination of inconsistent regular-season play and missed time, expectations weren’t exactly high for the D-man heading into the postseason.

Yet, the Gothenburg, Sweden native has been a revelation on the Oilers’ blue line in the ten playoff games he’s played in so far.

Klingberg was inserted into the lineup in the first round in Game 2 against the Los Angeles Kings. For someone who hadn’t played much hockey in the last year and a half, he moved the puck with poise, made key plays at both ends of the ice, including assisting on a couple of goals with slick passes, and made an incredible block in Game 6, finishing with a +3 rating in five games in the opening round.

In round two against the Vegas Golden Knights, he officially got credited with just one assist in the series — a breakout pass that led to a goal by Vasily Podkolzin. But if the NHL tracked third and fourth assists, he would have at least a couple more, as he sent several 100-foot stretch passes onto his forwards’ tape that started plays, with some resulting in goals. Of course, he hasn’t been without flaws on the defensive side, but his precision passes make up for any miscues. He finished with a +2 rating in the Vegas series, played over 20 minutes twice, and made eight blocks in five games.

Now, as the Oilers prepare to face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final, Klingberg’s story has the potential to shift from a comeback tale to one of redemption. Let’s start by looking back at his history with his former team.

Klingberg was originally drafted by Dallas in 2010 and played for them from 2013 to 2022, tallying 374 regular-season points during that span, which includes posting a career-high 67 points in the 2017–18 season. Also, he scored several clutch postseason goals for Dallas, and his peak likely came during the Stars’ 2020 run to the Stanley Cup Final, where the blueliner registered 21 points in 26 playoff games, including scoring two game-winning goals.

Klingberg signed a seven-year, $29.75 million contract with the Dallas Stars in 2015, and two years later, in 2017, the team added another stud blueliner to their pipeline, drafting Miro Heiskanen third overall. In the summer of 2021, Dallas committed long-term to Heiskanen, who was emerging as one of the NHL’s premier D-men, signing him to an eight-year, $67.6 million contract. At the time, the Stars expressed their belief that he would become a perennial Norris Trophy Contender, while Klingberg’s game, by comparison, was beginning to show signs of decline.

Still, the Stars reportedly made an offer to keep Klingberg, who had a year remaining on his contract, showing some interest in retaining the veteran D-man. However, according to Jeff Marek at the time, Klingberg and his camp were believed to be seeking an eight-year deal worth around $66 million before the start of the 2021–22 season.

As the 2021–22 season unfolded, contract talks between Klingberg and the Stars began to stall. Feeling overlooked despite years of being an offensive stud on the blue line, the Swedish D-man admitted in January 2022 that he felt underappreciated, saying at the time:

After the 2021–22 season, Klingberg’s time with the Stars came to an end. He hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent, but instead of landing the long-term deal he had hoped for, he signed a one-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks to rebuild his value. Things didn’t go as planned. He was traded to the Minnesota Wild at the 2023 NHL deadline, then signed a one-year deal with the Maple Leafs a season later.

Now here we are — nearly 15 years after the Stars called his name at the draft and the 32-year-old has become a pleasant playoff surprise for the Oilers.

That said, Klingberg has a full-circle moment ahead of him. I don’t officially know how he feels about playing against his former club in the Western Conference Final and perhaps he’s reconciled any negative feelings, if there were any, that stemmed from how things ended with the Stars. But from an outside perspective — speculating here — for a player who once felt unappreciated after many years as an offensive force in Dallas, only to watch the Stars prioritize signing a younger player like Heiskanen, then have his career go off track due to injuries, and now finds himself as a key piece on a Stanley Cup–contending team — I’d wager Klingberg is chomping at the bit to stick it to the Stars and remind them of what they let slip away.

It was reported that Oilers D-man Mattias Ekholm skated with the main group for the first time this postseason during a full practice on May 19, and in an interview, he mentioned he’s taking it day-to-day, so it’s likely he’ll return to the lineup later in the series against the Stars. As a result, a D-man will have to sit out if Ekholm returns, but with the way Klingberg is moving the puck, it definitely should not be him. Adding to that, head coach Kris Knoblauch had some praise for him:

Just highlighting the chemistry Knoblauch mentioned between Klingberg and Jake Walman — by the eye test, they look solid together, and with the offensive mindset they both possess, they read off each other very well. In 110:05 minutes played at 5v5 during these playoffs, they have a 4-2 goal share.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the advanced metrics back up the eye test as the Klingberg–Walman pairing holds a 60–36 edge in shots, a 31–16 lead in high-danger chances, a 56.33% CF%, and a 63.58% xGF% at 5v5 — all of which suggest they should remain together against the Stars, at least to start.

All in all, in the upcoming Oilers vs. Stars series, we have several players going up against their former teams — Corey Perry, who spent a season with Dallas, Mattias Janmark, who played there for a few years; to Cody Ceci, a former Oiler now on the Stars and even Stars D-man Alex Petrovic, who had a brief nine-game stint donning the orange and blue. But above all, the one I think will be most motivated to face his former club is Klingberg — and I predict we’re about to witness his best hockey of the postseason in the Western Conference Final.