Rob Klinkhammer Is Having The Worst Season

Rob Klinkhammer has gone from the bottom to the top; now he’s back at the bottom

If anyone deserves a complimentary in-flight beverage en route to Edmonton, Alberta, it’s Rob Klinkhammer.

Over his four NHL seasons (arguably three, but who’s counting?), Klinkhammer has been nothing short of a pleasant surprise for fans. Passed over in the NHL Entry Draft, Klinkhammer was one of the numerous offensive products churned out by the CHL that made the leap to professional hockey once they had finished developing — and, like many undrafted players, brought the two-way game he’d developed to the NHL through a more physical role than he’d once held.

A former WHL PPG player, Klinkhammer’s offensive production dropped off a bit as he moved to the AHL, but he can play an effective game if he doesn’t try to get too fancy. An on-ice leader in hits and respectable two-way winger, Klinkhammer added a slight scoring edge to Arizona’s bottom six in addition to a sound defensive presence. He has yet to record a negative +/- on a season in his NHL career, and a career high 11 goals in 72 games last season make him a decent roster player to have.

The defensively-minded Coyotes weren’t getting the scorepower they needed from yet another two-way bottom six forward, though — so he was dealt to Pittsburgh on December 5th to help the Metropolitan Division franchise replenish an injury-and-illness depleted offensive roster.

In exchange, the Coyotes received defensive prospect Philip Samuelsson and sent a conditional fifth round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft with Klinkhammer; should Samuelsson play in forty games in the 2014-2015 season, the Penguins will get the pick as well.

Seems like a good deal for Klinkhammer; upon his arrival in Pittsburgh, he was ranked third on the Penguins offensive line in hits per game (averaging 2.3 per game) and seemed like a good player to slot in on any of Pittsburgh’s bottom three lines in lieu of their countless player absences.

After only ten games, one goal, and two assists, though,  Klinkhammer is back on the move:

This is his third franchise in a month, although only his fifth over the course of his NHL career.

Perron led the Edmonton Oilers in goals last season (28), coming in third for points overall behind Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall. Initially acquired for Edmonton’s tenth overall pick at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft (Magnus Paajarvi) and their 2014 second-round pick from the St. Louis Blues, the winger — selected twenty-second overall in 2007 — should fit in nicely on an offensive roster in Pittsburgh just on the cusp of being deadly.

As for Klinkhammer? He’s heading to the 30th place overall team, equipped with as many goals as Nail Yakupov but destined to play bottom-line minutes (that is, if the Oilers play him at all).

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To Edmonton’s benefit, Rob Klinkhammer has a more defensive on-ice presence than nearly everyone else on their roster; Matt Fraser lacks the two-way praise Klinkhammer has received in the past and the team’s top six all boast +/- ratings already nearing -20 on the season. He should stem the hemhorraging on the team’s bottom six that was inevitably started by the Mark Arcobello trade, and serve as a nice depth piece to help the team survive the season.

With Benoit Pouliot coming off injured reserve, though, it’s entirely likely that Klinkhammer will become yet another press box staple; once Leon Draisaitl gets reassigned to the juniors once more, the team will need someone to watch the game with the media.

Is this the worst trade Edmonton could have made? Of course not. Klinkhammer can — at the very least — provide them with an extra body that has significant NHL experience and knows how to exhibit a two-way presence regardless of his opponents.

Could the Oilers have made a smarter trade, though? Probably. A defenseman and a lower-round pick would have been a much better haul for Perron, particularly if the team is resigned to relinquishing another twenty goals on the season. Hopefully, the first-round pick is for that touted blue liner — if not, this team might just implode.

Send your condolences to Klinkhammer, though — if he thought it was hard to play for the dejected November Coyotes, he’s in for a huge surprise.

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