Report: Hurricanes among teams to call Stars about Klingberg

The Carolina Hurricanes have contacted the Dallas Stars about defenseman John Klingberg, reports Sportsnet's Jeff Marek.

"Trade chatter is starting to pick up, and a lot of it revolves around John Klingberg of the Dallas Stars. A few teams have expressed interest there (and) contacted the Dallas Stars," Marek said during Saturday's "32 Thoughts" TV segment.

"The one team we know that has called are the Carolina Hurricanes."

Klingberg is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end. The blue-liner is seeking an eight-year extension worth somewhere in the mid-$60-million range, which Dallas hasn't been willing to meet yet, Marek added.

"I'm not saying that the Dallas Stars want to trade John Klingberg right now, they have playoff aspirations as we all know of their own," Marek said. "But that's not stopping teams from calling."

The Stars entered Saturday sitting sixth in the Central Division with a 9-7-2 record.

Klingberg has recorded seven assists in 14 games this campaign. The right-handed shooting Swede has averaged 56 points per 82 contests over his eight-year career. He'll turn 30 years old in August.

Carolina lost stalwart right-handed defenseman Dougie Hamilton as a UFA to the New Jersey Devils in the offseason. Instead of making a major splash to replace him, the Canes added Ethan Bear and Tony DeAngelo to help fill the void on the right side of their blue line.

The 15-3-1 Hurricanes entered Saturday atop the NHL's standings.