Petr Klíma (23 December 1964 – 4 May 2023) was a Czech professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings, and the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1985 and 1999. Internationally Klíma played for the Czechoslovak national team at the 1983, winning silver, and 1984 World Junior Championships, winning bronze, and the 1984 Canada Cup. With the Oilers, Klíma won the Stanley Cup in 1990; arguably his most famous goal as a player came in game one when he scored the game-winning goal in triple-overtime (55:13) of what remains the longest Stanley Cup Final game in history.
Early career and defection
Klíma was drafted in the fifth round (86th overall) of the 1983 NHL entry draft by the Detroit Red Wings.
By the time Klíma was 20 years old, officials on his HC Dukla Jihlava team knew that the Detroit Red Wings were eager to bring the young star to the NHL. Rumors were rampant that the Wings were trying to pay off Czechoslovak authorities to get Klíma out of his native country, but despite all the hype that surrounded him, Czechoslovak hockey authorities made no real effort to clamp down and prevent Klíma from traveling in Europe. As a result, Klíma managed to defect to North America during the summer of 1985, making him the first Czech player to defect directly to a U.S.-based team rather than one of the NHL's Canadian teams which had smuggled several Czechs and Slovaks out of Europe in the past.
Klima's bold move was entirely orchestrated by the Red Wings, who knew that Klíma was eager to play in North America.
It was later revealed that plans to get Klíma out of Czechoslovakia reached back as far as the 1984 World Junior Championships, held in Sweden, when Detroit scout Alex Davidson secretly met with Klíma in December 1983. Klíma, who spoke no English when he finally arrived in Detroit on 22 September 1985, was fortunate that the Red Wings also managed to bring his girlfriend to the U.S. In honor of his successful defection, a grateful and overjoyed Klíma requested sweater number 85 and wore it throughout his NHL career as a reminder of the year in which he gained freedom. He played for the Oilers until 1993, winning the Stanley Cup in 1990. In 1993 Klima was acquired by the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for future considerations; Klíma remained with the Lightning for three seasons, until 1996. He split the 1996–97 season between the Lumberjacks, Kings, Penguins, and Oilers, and was released in 1997. He played in the DEL in 1997–98, then attempted a comeback with the Red Wings in 1998. He retired from the NHL in 1999, and then played two seasons in years 2001–2003 in the Czech league before retiring for good. He played for Litvinov and captained those 2 years. He finally made his 1988–89 NHL regular season debut during Detroit's 6 November, game versus the Edmonton where he posted an assist. At his first practice with the team, on 5 November, Klíma offered a heartfelt apology to his Wings teammates for his earlier behavior, much of which was alcohol-related. During his months back, Klíma roomed with Probert, who was also trying to cope with his drinking and drug habits. Klíma managed to stay clean, but Probert's substance abuse and subsequent issues would continue for several years.
Personal life and death
Klíma's father Joseph was also a hockey player, who played internationally for Czechoslovakia. Klíma was married, and with his wife Irina had a daughter, Jessi and twin sons, Kelly and Kevin. Both Kelly and Kevin are hockey players, and signed one-year contracts with the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League in 2018. At the time of Petr's death, Kelly was playing in the Czech Republic.
Klima operated as owner, GM, and head coach of a handful of youth hockey teams in the suburban Detroit region that worked with children that had been imported from the Czech Republic, with Kilma's mission being to help them acclimate to life on and off the ice in North America, stating “Instead of bringing the kids over here when they’re 16 and 17, we want to bring them early so they can learn the language, learn the culture and learn the hockey style. I have seen so many players go back home [to Europe] because they get homesick, they don’t know the language and they’re not confident.”
Klíma died on 4 May 2023, at his home in Chomutov, at the age of 58.