TOP 100 OILERS: PETR KLIMA (33)
7 years ago
From the candy cane tape job on his hockey stick to the Great Dane he kept in his hotel room at the Coliseum Inn across the Street from Northlands Coliseum to the business-in-the-front-party-in-the-back mullet and big fur coats he favoured, Petr Klima was a walking fashion statement. He had style.
Despite his penchant for driving coaches crazy wherever he played by doing nothing for games on end and occasionally missing curfew – hello, Goose Loonies – then going on a tear out on the ice that took your breath away, there’s no doubt Klima was equal parts substance. It’s fitting, then, he scored one of the greatest overtime goals in the history of the Edmonton Oilers in 1990 during a game in which he had his ass stapled to the pine most of the night.
Petr Klima
Left Wing — shoots R
Born Dec 23 1964 — Chaomutov, Czech
Height 6.00 — Weight 183 [183 cm/83 kg]
Drafted by Detroit Red Wings
Round 5 #86 overall 1983 NHL Entry Draft
BY THE NUMBERS
Season | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S | S% |
1985-86 | 74 | 32 | 24 | 56 | -39 | 16 | 174 | 18.4 | |
1986-87 | 77 | 30 | 23 | 53 | -9 | 42 | 209 | 14.4 | |
1987-88 | 78 | 37 | 25 | 62 | 4 | 46 | 174 | 21.3 | |
1988-89 | 51 | 25 | 16 | 41 | 5 | 44 | 145 | 17.2 | |
1989-90 | TOT | 76 | 30 | 33 | 63 | -9 | 72 | 186 | 16.1 |
1989-90 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 10 | -8 | 6 | 37 | 13.5 | |
1989-90 | 63 | 25 | 28 | 53 | -1 | 66 | 149 | 16.8 | |
1990-91 | 70 | 40 | 28 | 68 | 24 | 113 | 204 | 19.6 | |
1991-92 | 57 | 21 | 13 | 34 | -18 | 52 | 107 | 19.6 | |
1992-93 | 68 | 32 | 16 | 48 | -15 | 100 | 175 | 18.3 | |
1993-94 | 75 | 28 | 27 | 55 | -15 | 76 | 167 | 16.8 | |
1994-95 | 47 | 13 | 13 | 26 | -13 | 26 | 75 | 17.3 | |
1995-96 | 67 | 22 | 30 | 52 | -25 | 68 | 164 | 13.4 | |
1996-97 | TOT | 33 | 2 | 12 | 14 | -12 | 12 | 55 | 3.6 |
1996-97 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | -7 | 2 | 12 | 0.0 | |
1996-97 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -4 | 4 | 21 | 4.8 | |
1996-97 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 6 | 22 | 4.5 | |
1998-99 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 4 | 12 | 8.3 | |
6 yrs | DET | 306 | 130 | 93 | 223 | -50 | 158 | 751 | 17.3 |
5 yrs | EDM | 274 | 119 | 90 | 209 | -11 | 337 | 657 | 18.1 |
3 yrs | TBL | 189 | 63 | 70 | 133 | -53 | 170 | 406 | 15.5 |
1 yr | LAK | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | -7 | 2 | 12 | 0.0 |
1 yr | PIT | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -4 | 4 | 21 | 4.8 |
Career | 786 | 313 | 260 | 573 | -125 | 671 | 1847 | 16.9 |
PLAYOFFS
Season | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S | S% |
1986-87 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 45 | 2.2 | |
1987-88 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 9 | 10 | 38 | 26.3 | |
1988-89 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 19 | 19 | 10.5 | |
1989-90 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 5 | -2 | 8 | 25 | 20.0 | |
1990-91 | 18 | 7 | 6 | 13 | -1 | 16 | 51 | 13.7 | |
1991-92 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 8 | 22 | 4.5 | |
1995-96 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 9 | 22.2 | |
1996-97 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | |
Career | 95 | 28 | 24 | 52 | 5 | 83 | 211 | 13.3 |
NOTABLE
It would be easy enough to wag your finger at Klima and dismiss him as one of those uncommitted types who was very good as a NHL player but refused to be great because he just wasn’t willing to put in the work – there’s certainly a lot of truth in that where he’s concerned – but he was a free-spirit who was difficult not to like. Then again, I never had to coach him.
Klima, who broke into the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings in 1985-86 after defecting from Czeckoslovakia, already had plenty of baggage as a good-time guy when he was traded to Edmonton with Joe Murphy, Adam Graves and Jeff Sharples by the Red Wings for Jimmy Carson, Kevin McClelland and a draft pick in November of 1989.
The most noteworthy incident happened right here in Edmonton as Klima, Bob Probert and Joe Kocur were caught partying into the wee hours of the morning at Goose Loonies, a southside nightclub, the night before the fifth game of Detroit’s third-round series against the Oilers. The Oilers won the game 8-4 and the series 4-1.
THE STORY
On the ice, Klima could skate, shoot and score – when he felt like it – with the best of them. Klima scored 119 goals and had 209 points in 274 regular season games in two stints with the Oilers. His best season in Edmonton was 1990-91 when he scored 40 goals and had 68 points in 70 games. On talent alone, Klima should’ve scored 40 goals every season, but, you know. . .
Klima’s greatest moment as an Oiler came in Game 1 of the 1990 Stanley Cup final against the Boston Bruins in Beantown. Benched by coach John Muckler, Klima took a backhand pass from Jari Kurri and snapped a shot past former Oiler Andy Moog at 15:13 of the third overtime period for a 3-2 win and 1-0 series lead. The Oilers would go on to win their fifth Stanley Cup.
Klima’s Stanley Cup ring with the Oilers was the only one he’d get during a 786-game career that could have, and should have, been much better had he spent more time playing and less time boozing, but it wasn’t to be. Klima was a magnificent talent who settled for being very good when he could have been great.
This series will look at the top 100 Edmonton Oilers from the NHL era 1979-80 to 2014-15, starting with 100 and working up.
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260.
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