Former Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom, who hasn’t performed a sport since August 2020 attributable to a shoulder damage, has confirmed his retirement, via Rasmus Kagstrom of Hockey Sverige.
“It’s as it’s. I wasn’t fairly completed with hockey as a sport. However now it’s over,” Klefbom stated (translated from Swedish). “I’m very proud of my profession. I’m simply grateful that I obtained the possibility to play as many video games as I did — regardless that it was as an damage. I gained numerous belief, obtained to participate in a implausible journey. There are actually two sides to the coin — as a result of though I’m grateful, I’d have preferred to be right here at this time. On the ice. As a participant.”
Klefbom additionally confirmed he performed together with his eventual career-ending shoulder damage all through almost all of his seven-year NHL profession. Concerning the wait to formally announce his retirement, the 31-year-old stated: “It was a alternative I made. I talked to Edmonton that I needed to put very low with what was going to occur and what the scenario is. They had been completely ’tremendous’ with that. From my aspect, it was additionally as a result of I believed it was so troublesome to speak about it.”
For a short time, Klefbom was one of many league’s premier two-way defenders. Chosen nineteenth total in 2011 out of Sweden’s Farjestad BK, Klefbom remained in his residence nation for 2 extra seasons earlier than making the leap to North America in 2013-14.
He was principally an AHLer in his first season, suiting up in 48 contests for the Oklahoma Metropolis Barons. However he did get a style of NHL motion, posting three factors in 17 appearances. It wasn’t a lot of an influence, however he’d make a big leap in his improvement within the 2014 offseason and have become a staple of the Oilers’ prime 4 in simply his second season within the system.
Klefbom would go on to play 378 video games in an Edmonton sweater, scoring 34 objectives and 122 assists for 156 factors (0.41 per sport). He had a profession -64 ranking, comprehensible for a participant routinely averaging north of twenty-two minutes per sport on an Oilers membership that solely made the playoffs twice in his tenure. His even-strength possession numbers on the entire had been constructive, logging a 1.4 relative CF proportion and 50.1 xGF proportion at even power, per Hockey Reference. He was a serious a part of Edmonton’s energy play and penalty kill models, particularly close to the top of his abbreviated profession.
The Karlstad native has been a UFA for over a yr after his seven-year, $29.17M contract with the Oilers expired in 2023. He spent the ultimate three seasons of the contract fully on long-term injured reserve.
Klefbom made clear in his interview that he desires to return to hockey in some capability, however whether or not that’s within the NHL or Sweden stays to be seen.