Oscar Klefbom hasn’t played a game since the summer of 2020. Now, the Swedish defenseman reveals that the shoulder injury he has dealt with means he has played his last hockey game.

“Now it’s over,” the defenceman tells the local newspaper Nya Wermlands Tidningen in his hometown Karlstad.

Oscar Klefbom last played hockey on August 7, 2020, when Edmonton lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup playoffs’ qualifying round.

Since then, the shoulder issues that have plagued him throughout his career have kept him off the ice. In the past four seasons, the now 31-year-old defenseman has logged zero minutes on the ice. During this period, there have been no clear updates about his future—until now.

“It is what it is. As a sport, I wasn’t quite finished with hockey. But now it’s over,” Klefbom tells Nya Wermlands Tidningen.

Klefbom tells Värmlands Folkblad that he played through injuries during the last five years of his career. In recent years, he has chosen to keep a low profile in the media regarding his hockey future.

“It was a choice I made. I talked to Edmonton about wanting to keep a very low profile about what would happen and how the situation was. They were completely fine with that. From my side, it was also because I found it so hard to talk about it,” he says.

Klefbom was drafted in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers in the summer of 2011 and made his NHL debut during the 2013/14 season. In total, the defenceman managed to play 378 NHL games with the Oilers before injury problems ended his playing days.

In Sweden, Klefbom played a total of 67 games in the SHL with Färjestad, and on the national team level, he won World Junior Championship gold in 2012. He also represented Tre Kronor in the 2015 World Championship.

“I am very satisfied with my career. I am just grateful that I got the chance to play as many games as I did—even though I was injured. I got a lot of trust and got to be part of a fantastic journey. There are really two sides to the coin—for even though I am grateful, I would have liked to be here today. On the ice. As a player,” Klefbom tells Värmlands Folkblad.

He wants to return to hockey in the future.

“I am 31 years old and itching to get back. I am fresh enough that I want to go out and hit Joel Eriksson Ek down in the corner. I don’t feel old enough to sit at home and enjoy a retired life.”