Former NHL player and legendary figure in Czech hockey, Petr Klima has died at the age of 58, according to a notice from the Czech Hockey Federation.
Tragic news hit the hockey community: former forward Peter Klima died suddenly at the age of 58.
He played nearly 800 games in the NHL, helped the national team win MSJ silver and bronze, and also played in the 1984 Canada Cup.
Honoring his memory 🕊️
📸 @employee pic.twitter.com/MCCJwbHfEK
– hockey stick (narodnity) May 4, 2023
translator:
Tragic news has hit the hockey community: former forward Peter Klima has died suddenly at the age of 58.
He played nearly 800 games in the NHL, helped the national team win MSJ silver and bronze, and also played in the 1984 Canada Cup.
Honoring his memory.
The cause of his death has not yet been clarified. But suffice it to say that at only 58 years old, he was robbed of us very, very early.
Most hockey fans will be familiar with Clema from his stint in the 1980s with the Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers. Klima joined the Red Wings in the summer of 1985, becoming the first Czech player in NHL history to skew to an American-based team after a somewhat lengthy covert process. At a training camp in Germany, Klima managed to elude fellow Czechs and flee with the Red Wings. The 1984 Summer Olympics saw Klima attempt to defect, but the Red Wings were unable to help him. Let’s just say there was a lot of anticipation surrounding the Klima when it finally arrived in Detroit.
Klima would have 50+ point and 30+ goal seasons with Detroit, but his unpredictable behavior and alcoholism problems hurt his performance. When it all finally came to a head in 1988 during training camp, he was pulled over by the team. Klima was finally back on track after a short conditioning stint in the AHL, but the Red Wings eventually traded him to the Edmonton Oilers, where he would go on to score one of the most iconic goals in Oilers history.
In Game 1 of the 1990 Stanley Cup Final, Klima, who had been benched for the greater part of the game, scored the winning goal in triple overtime. Of course, the Oilers went on to win the series and the Stanley Cup.
Who could forget this goal?
Scored a powerful goal in the Stanley Cup Final seemingly out of nowhere. You have to love him.
RIP, Peter. But not forgotten.