Petr Klima, a former NHL and DEL pro, died Thursday at the age of 58.
He still holds a record in the North American ice hockey league today.
Chomutov – Former Czech ice hockey player Petr Klima has died at the age of 58.
On Thursday, May 4th, his lifeless body was found in his native town of Chomutov in the north-east of the Czech Republic.
To this day, the former winger holds an NHL record, which he set while wearing the Edmonton Oilers jersey.
The team of NHL superstar Leon Draisaitl honored the achievements of their former forward with a message on their homepage.
Peter Klim | |
|---|---|
Born: | December 23, 1964 in Chomutov, Czechoslovakia |
Died: | May 4, 2023 in Chomutov, Czech Republic |
Performance data in the NHL: | 786 games, 313 goals, 260 assists |
Stations in Germany: | EC Wolfsburg (1994/95), Krefeld Penguins (1997/98) |
Klima became a legend in the NHL
Klima made his first steps in professional ice hockey in the domestic first division in Czechoslovakia.
After four years with TJ CHZ Litvinov and ASD Dukla Jihlava, he ventured across the Atlantic and joined the Detroit Red Wings for the 1985/86 season.
In total, he played over 780 games in the best ice hockey league in the world by the time he retired in 2003.
Most remembered, however, is his chapter with the Edmonton Oilers.
There he shot the decisive 3:2 in the third overtime in the first final game in 1990 against the Boston Bruins and was thus able to decide the game for his franchise.
The 116th-minute goal not only helped Edmonton win the Stanley Cup, it also marks the latest goal scored in an NHL Finals series game to date.
Edmonton mourns the loss of Petr Klima
Now the Edmonton Oilers have announced on their website that their 1990 Finals legend has passed away.
The cause of death of the 58-year-old, who was found lifeless in his hometown on May 4, is not yet known, the statement said.
The Canadians' statement mentions Klima's former team-mate Kevin Lowe, who played a total of four seasons (1989/90, 90/91, 91/92 and 96/97) with the Czechs in Edmonton.
“I remember him as a player, he was really light on his skates.
He was a very fast skater and I remember he had this candy cane tape on the shaft and he had this crazy looking helmet.
He stood out a bit, but he was a good player," the former Edmonton Oilers defenseman said of his team-mate at the time.
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Petr Klima (on the right with the 85) during his time with the Krefeld Penguins.
© IMAGO / Team 2
Petr Klima with two stations in Germany
Klima was also able to count two stations in Germany on his CV.
In 1996, in the fall of his career, he switched to the DEL team of the Krefeld Pinguine, after a last interlude with the Oilers.
But a few years earlier, in the 1994/95 season, he made his first stop in Germany.
In the second-rate “1.
Liga Nord” Klima played twelve times (27 goals, 11 assists) for EC Wolfsburg.
Klima passed his ice hockey talent on to his two sons, Kevin and Kelly.
Both currently play in the Extraliga, the first Czech league.
(sh)
