Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg had to have been the happiest man on the planet when former Ottawa Senators defenseman Marc Methot was traded from Vegas to Dallas.
Methot's claim to fame to this point in his career has come from two things: being the guy who got his finger chopped off by Sidney Crosby, and being Erik Karlsson's longtime defensive partner.
The latter is the reason why Klingberg should have jumped out of his seat upon hearing the news Methot was heading to Texas.
Methot was the ideal defense partner for Karlsson. He is big, strong, physical, positionally sound, great at winning puck battles down low, is a left-handed shot (Karlsson shoots right), and has little offensive ability.
Though Karlsson is obviously in a league of his own, he and Klingberg are very much alike. Both are from Sweden, love to skate the puck out of the defensive zone, love joining the rush, can make a great first pass, are all-around dynamic offensively, and both shoot right - essentially the complete opposite of Methot.
Stars general manager Jim Nill had this to say about Methot, per Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press:
"(Methot) has proven to be a capable and steady defenseman that can play well with an offensive-minded partner."
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Assuming Klingberg and Methot are paired together, the latter's stay-at-home mindset will allow the former to roam freely and generate offense, knowing he has a veteran, rock-solid partner backing him.
This wasn't the case for Klingberg last season, as he was most frequently paired with rookie Esa Lindell. There were certainly times when Klingberg thought twice about pinching, knowing he would have left a rookie hung out to dry had he gotten caught.
Despite the responsibility of being paired with a rookie, Klingberg - who is only 24 years old in his own right - still recorded 49 points (10th-most among NHL defensemen) and scored a career-high 13 goals.
Methot will not only serve as a security blanket for Klingberg, but he will act as mentor. Including playoffs, Methot has over 600 games of NHL experience - many of them spent exclusively alongside Karlsson. Methot can tell Klingberg "in this situation, Karlsson used to do this" or "here's how Karlsson and I would approach this scenario."
It may seem subtle, but the little things matter a lot.
With a full season alongside Methot, Klingberg should be able to regain his 58-point form from 2015-16, or perhaps even surpass that total, into the 60- or even 70-point range. He certainly has the talent, and now he has the defense partner who will allow him to be as offensively aggressive as he wants, without thinking of the repercussions that will come with it.
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