During the Toronto Maple Leafs' trip to Sweden for the NHL Global Series games, it became clear that defender John Klingberg may have played his final game for the team. Upon arrival in Sweden it was reported that Klingberg was unable to get off of the plane unassisted. Instead, his nagging hip injury had flared up to a point that he was unable to practice or play.
News began to circulate that surgery could be his only option. A surgery that would keep him out for the remainder of year. This rubbed many fans the wrong way, who immediately felt the Maple Leafs were looking to circumvent the salary cap again.
According to reports, Klingberg had been dealing with this injury for his entire career. 10 years ago he underwent similar surgery but it appears that surgery is no longer alleviating his pain. This is another example of an NHL player trying to play through the pain until the point that they can no longer do so.
