Bryan Little Announces Retirement
Longtime center for the Atlanta Thrashers and Winnipeg Jets, Bryan Little, will retire on October 20th after signing a one-day contract with the Jets organization as the team announced. Little spent the first four years of his career with the Thrashers before spending the last nine in Winnipeg after the team relocated for the 2011-12 season.
Little was selected with the 12th overall pick of the 2006 NHL Draft by the Thrashers after a tremendous season with the OHL’s Barrie Colts. In his draft season and the year following, Little scored a whopping 83 goals and 216 points in 121 games and quickly became a top prospect for Atlanta. He finally debuted for the team in the 2007-08 season scoring six goals and 16 points in 48 games in his rookie campaign.
He quickly became the top center for the struggling Thrashers organization at a young age. He struggled to produce points similarly to his time in the OHL but Little still scored 62 goals and 133 points in 234 games to close out his tenure in Atlanta. The team failed to make the playoffs in each of Little’s four seasons despite making it the year before his debut and moved on from talented teammates Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa during his tenure.
Little became a stable presence for the new rendition of the Jets after the team struggled early on. The team failed to produce a winning record in its first three years back in Winnipeg, but Little stayed consistent with 54 goals and 142 points in 204 games while averaging a 49.0% success rate in the faceoff dot. The organization committed to Little down the middle with a five-year, $23.5MM contract in 2013.
The Jets became much more competitive starting in the 2014-15 season making the playoffs four out of Little’s last six seasons with the organization including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2018. He maintained his scoring pace down the stretch with 93 goals and 225 points in 350 games with another four goals and 12 points in 27 postseason contests. During this window, the organization signed Little to his second long-term deal by inking a six-year, $31.75MM contract.
Unfortunately Little would not see the end of this contract with the Jets organization. He sustained a concussion in a preseason game before the 2019-20 season but started the season on time. On November 5th against the New Jersey Devils, Little took a shot to his ear and missed the remainder of the season. He received surgery in February to repair a perforated eardrum but he had already played his last NHL contest.
Winnipeg finally traded Little’s contract to the Arizona Coyotes in 2022 after keeping him on LTIR for some time. The Coyotes continued to hold Little on LTIR as it became apparent he wouldn’t be able to suit up in the NHL again. Little’s contract finally ran its course this offseason technically making him a free agent for the first time.
Little will now retire with the only organization he has ever known. His 13-year career will end with 217 goals and 521 points in 843 contests between the Thrashers and Jets’ organizations. In a statement, Little said, “It’s a great honour that I can retire as a member of the Winnipeg Jets and end my playing career with the organization where I was drafted and played my entire NHL career. I had the privilege to play in Winnipeg and in front of the amazing fans for nine seasons, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to thank the Jets, their fans and the city of Winnipeg. It will truly be a full circle moment for my family and I to celebrate my retirement in the building where I have so many special memories“.
Jaromír Jágr To Retire Following 2024-25 Season
The 2024-25 season will be 52-year-old Jaromír Jágr‘s last playing professional hockey. The all-time great will retire following the 2024-25 season, he told Rob Rossi of The Athletic over the phone Thursday.
It’s been over six years since the Flames assigned Jágr to Rytíři Kladno in Czechia, his hometown club, to play out the back half of a one-year deal he signed with Calgary for the 2017-18 season. That marked the end of his 24-year, 1,733-game NHL career, but it didn’t signal the end of his days playing at the professional level.
Jágr has been Kladno’s majority owner since 2011. The Penguins’ fifth overall pick in 1990 played his first two professional seasons with the club in the Czechoslovak top league before being drafted. He also played there during NHL lockouts in 1994, 2004-05, and 2012.
But by the time Jágr returned during his age 45 season, Kladno had been demoted from the top-level Czech Extraliga to the country’s second-tier pro league. Since his return, though, Kladno has stayed in the Extraliga for five out of the last eight seasons. Jágr was a force in helping them gain their initial promotion back to the top level, scoring 10 goals in 11 qualification games in 2019 to boost them back to the Extraliga for the 2019-20 campaign.
Now in his 37th season of professional hockey, Jágr is understandably no longer a premier force on the ice. The right-winger was limited to 15 regular-season appearances for Kladno last year, posting four assists and a -4 rating. He was in the lineup for Kladno’s Extraliga regular-season opener Wednesday, though, posting an assist and a -1 rating in 14:26 of ice time. It was a promising showing after tearing his hamstring less than a month ago, putting his availability for yesterday’s game in doubt.
Jágr’s NHL résumé needs no introduction. He may have never lifted the Stanley Cup in his prime, only winning it back-to-back with Pittsburgh in his first two NHL campaigns, but he was a game-changing threat in the NHL’s most offensively challenging era. Jágr won five scoring titles, including four straight from 1998 to 2001, and also won the Pearson Award (now the Ted Lindsay Award) as the most outstanding player as selected by their peers on three occasions (1999, 2000, 2006).
On the NHL’s all-time leaderboard, Jágr ranks fourth in games played, fourth in goals (766), fifth in assists (1,155), and second in points (1,921). He’s also a member of the Triple Gold Club, powering the Czechs to a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics and winning a pair of World Championship gold medals (2005, 2010).
While Jágr donned the sweater of nine NHL teams – the Penguins, Rangers, Capitals, Panthers, Devils, Flyers, Bruins, Stars, and Flames – he’ll always best be remembered for his peak years in Pittsburgh. That’s where he’ll likely return after his playing days are done next year. Rossi reported in May that the club was working to hire Jágr in a front-office role whenever he was ready to transition to the next chapter of his hockey career.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Kyle Okposo Announces Retirement
Longtime New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres winger Kyle Okposo has announced his retirement from the NHL in an open letter, released by agency CAA Hockey. In the letter, Okposo recounted his dreams of pursuing the NHL and the deep relationships he was able to form around the league. Okposo will be ending a decorated career, encompassing 17 NHL seasons, 1,051 games, and as of a few months ago, one Stanley Cup.
Okposo was originally selected seventh overall by the Islanders in the 2006 NHL Draft, after winning the 2006 USHL Clark Cup Championship with the Des Moines Buccaneers. He followed the draft with two productive years at the University of Minnesota, combining for 51 points in 58 games, before turning pro in the second-half of the 2007-08 season. Okposo’s production quickly translated to the AHL flight, and he earned his first NHL call-up after 35 games and 28 points in Bridgeport.
Once he was called up, Okposo didn’t look back – netting five points in his first nine NHL games, then more formally scoring 18 goals and 39 points in 65 games during his rookie season. He jumped up to New York’s second line and held his spot proudly, routinely challenging 20 goals and 50 points – peaking with a career-high 27 goals and 69 points in the 2013-14 season. Few wingers were as reliable as Okposo, and he carried that responsibility through a move to the Buffalo Sabres in 2016 – signing a seven-year deal in what was his only experience on the free agent market.
Okposo joined a Sabres team quickly approaching rock bottom. They did not once make the postseason during Okposo’s eight years with the club, but that didn’t dissuade him from latching on to his patented role in the lineup. Even through challenges with routine concussions, Okposo stood as a routine scorer, challenging 45 points every time he was able to play in a full season with the Sabres.
The consistent persistence earned Okposo the Sabres’ captaincy in 2022, succeeding Jack Eichel after his move to Vegas. Okposo wore the ‘C’ for the next two seasons. But with the then-35-year-old quickly approaching his final skates, the Sabres made the difficult decision to trade their captain at the 2024 Trade Deadline, moving him to a team capable of running towards the Stanley Cup.
And thus, Okposo joined the red-hot Florida Panthers, with a fifth-round pick and the rights to defender Calle Sjalin headed back to Buffalo. Okposo filled the role of 13th-forward for Florida, only slotting into six regular season games and failing to record a point. But his energy proved invaluable in the postseason, where he appeared in 17 games and found a way to make a noticeable impact despite recording just two assists. The hard work paid off, and in his first postseason appearance since 2016 – Okposo won the Stanley Cup.
He’ll end his career on that high, but it’s hard to think his eager personality will stay away from the league for long. He hinted at that in his retirement announcement, sharing, “Thirty years of playing hockey was incredible… I believe the game is in a great place right now, but the possibilities are vast. I’m looking forward to continuing to contribute to the games as it reaches new heights.”
Canucks’ Alexander Edler Announces Retirement
The Vancouver Canucks have announced that they’ll sign defenseman Alexander Edler to a one-day contract on October 11th, allowing him to retire in the city he spent 15 seasons in. Edler is a veteran of 1,030 NHL games, spending all but 105 of those in a Canucks jersey.
Edler holds a case as the draft day steal of 2004, originally going in the third round but since totaling the seventh-most NHL games of anyone in the class. He earned a top-pair role in Vancouver as a rookie in 2007, immediately flashing reliable two-way play and modest scoring. He’d become known for his consistency, emerging as one of Vancouver’s most utilized defenders through the bulk of the Sedin era and routinely challenging the 35-point mark. Edler’s career year came in the 2011-12 season, when he tallied 11 goals, 38 assists, and 49 points in 82 games – career-highs in all four stats, and the only time that Edler played in a full season. His 409 points in 925 games with Vancouver both rank as all-time highs among Canucks defenders.
Edler continued playing over 20 minutes a night through his final season in Vancouver in 2021. But the addition of superstar Quinn Hughes challenged Edler’s role, leading him to sign with the Los Angeles Kings, where he’d close his career on a pair of one-year contracts. His scoring took a hit in his final years – falling from a per-game average of 0.44 points in Vancouver (409 points in 925 games) to just 0.29 in Los Angeles (30 points in 105 games). He was one of only a few 2004 draft picks still playing in the NHL last season, joining Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Blake Wheeler, and Alex Goligoski.
The Canucks will honor their longtime top-defender with a pre-game ceremony during their October 11th matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Chris Wideman Announces Retirement
Sep. 17: Wideman officially announced his retirement on Tuesday via a statement from the Canadiens.
April 16: Through a report from Simon-Olivier Lorange of La Presse, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Chris Wideman has announced his retirement from the NHL. Wideman, who is currently suffering from a back injury, has not played in a game since the 2022-23 NHL season, which has likely led to the retirement.
Originally drafted with the 100th overall pick of the 2009 NHL Draft, Wideman would spend the next four seasons with Miami University of Ohio hockey program. Over 195 games spent with the RedHawks, Wideman would score 12 goals and 95 points in total, helping lead his team to two trips to the Frozen Four, and one National Championship appearance.
Once his time in the NCAA came to an end, Wideman joined the Senators’ AHL affiliate at the time, the Binghamton Senators. Over the next three seasons, Wideman would skate in 208 regular season games with the AHL Senators, scoring 30 goals and 130 points overall.
Thanks to his offensive performance in the AHL, Wideman managed to make his debut in Ottawa during the 2015-16 season, putting together a six-goal 13-point rookie performance over 64 games. During his sophomore year, Wideman would reach career highs in nearly every category, scoring five goals and 17 points in 76 games.
The next three years would not be as kind to Wideman, as he was traded three times during the 2018-19 season. After brief stints with the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers, Wideman would finish the season spent in the AHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.
His down 2018-19 season correlated with an off-ice incident that took place in the back of an Uber vehicle. At the time, a video recording was released of Wideman and six of his teammates criticizing other players and members of the coaching staff leading to a public apology from the players.
After receiving limited experience from North American teams, Wideman experienced a career resurgence overseas. Signing a one-year contract with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL, Wideman scored nine goals and 41 points in only 59 games.
Due to his success in Russia, the Canadiens took a flyer on Wideman’s services, signing the defenseman to a one-year, $750K contract. Both the player and team were well rewarded, as Wideman took off for four goals and 27 points in 63 games.
Unfortunately, both last year and this season have been mired by injuries, with Wideman playing his last game a little over a year ago. Throughout his career, Wideman will finish his career with 20 goals and 78 points over 219 games played.
Alex Stalock Likely To Retire
Veteran netminder Alex Stalock is joining the Sharks’ television broadcast crew this upcoming season, the team announced (via Max Miller of The Hockey News). The move likely signals the end of his 15-year professional career.
Stalock, who spent last season in the Ducks organization, was a finalist for the Masterton Trophy in 2023 after working his way back into a regular NHL role with the Blackhawks. The 37-year-old’s career nearly came to an end in 2020 after developing myocarditis after contracting COVID-19, causing him to spend all of the 2020-21 campaign on long-term injured reserve. He returned the following season in a depth/minor-league role for the Oilers and Sharks before serving as Chicago’s full-time backup in 2022-23.
The San Jose 2005 fourth-round pick signed a one-year, $800K deal with Anaheim last summer to provide competition to prospect Lukáš Dostál for the backup role, a job that the young Czech won handily in camp. Anaheim waived Stalock to begin the season and assigned him to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, where he spent most of the campaign aside from a handful of emergency call-ups that didn’t result in any NHL action. He recorded a 3.82 GAA, .888 SV%, and a 2-9-2 record in 15 appearances with San Diego.
Stalock played in parts of 11 NHL seasons with the Sharks, Wild, and Blackhawks from 2010 to 2023. In 179 regular-season games, he held a 70-65-20 record with 11 shutouts, a 2.70 GAA, and a .908 SV%.
He had also had an exemplary career as a minor-league starter, posting a 2.70 GAA, .909 SV%, 12 shutouts, and a 110-87-26 record in 232 AHL games across eight seasons – mostly for the Sharks’ affiliates in San Jose and Worcester.
The St. Paul, Minnesota native also had a spectacular collegiate stint, guiding the University of Minnesota-Duluth to a conference championship in his junior season with a 2.13 GAA, .924 SV%, five shutouts, and a 21-13-8 record in 42 appearances. All of us at PHR wish Stalock the best as he moves up from the ice to the broadcasting booth.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Jordie Benn Announces Retirement
Veteran defenseman Jordie Benn has retired after a 17-year run in the pros, he told Paul Haysom of CHEK News.
Benn, 37, last played in the NHL for the Maple Leafs in the 2022-23 season. The older brother of Stars captain Jamie Benn closes the book on a 12-year, 607-game NHL résumé – an incredibly unlikely run.
Not only was Benn undrafted, he never played high-level juniors or collegiate hockey. The physical, stay-at-home defender spent parts of four seasons in Junior ‘A’ for his hometown Victoria Grizzlies in the British Columbia Hockey League before turning pro in 2008, staying in British Columbia but jumping to the ECHL with the Victoria Salmon Kings.
Benn worked his way up the professional ranks over the next couple of seasons, landing an AHL contract with the Texas Stars for 2010-11 before inking his first NHL contract, a one-year entry-level pact, with Dallas for the 2011-12 campaign. That kicked off a six-year run for both Jordie and Jamie playing together in the Lone Star State.
The elder Benn spent most of 2011-12 back on the farm with Texas, but he did make his NHL debut with two assists in three games with the big club. Two years later, he was a regular in a depth role on the Dallas blue line, saying goodbye to the AHL entirely after splitting the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign between leagues.
While Benn mostly used his 6’2″, 201-lb frame to be a physical force and box out opponents, resulting in some decent possession numbers in his heyday, he wasn’t a complete non-factor offensively. He put up decent production on the Stars’ blue line in a low-scoring era, totaling 11 goals, 60 assists and 71 points with a +7 rating in 302 games there before he was traded to the Canadiens shortly before the 2017 deadline.
Benn remained an effective fringe top-four option in Montreal, posting 39 points and a +12 rating in 171 appearances in parts of three seasons while averaging 18:26 per game, slightly more than he averaged during his time in Dallas. Upon reaching unrestricted free agency in 2019, he inked a two-year, $4MM deal with the Canucks, returning as close to home as possible.
Unfortunately, it was in Vancouver his game began to decline, with his point-per-game production halving and his ice time slipping to exclusively bottom-pairing usage. He was traded to the Jets as a rental at the 2021 deadline and then spent 2021-22 with the Wild before landing in Toronto for 2022-23.
North of the border, Benn struggled with injuries, limited to a goal and an assist in 12 NHL appearances with a -1 rating. He was sent to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies for his first minor-league assignment in a decade, posting six points in 23 games there.
Upon reaching unrestricted free agency again last summer, Benn decided to try his luck overseas by inking a one-year deal with Sweden’s Brynäs IF. He ended up being a major get for the club, which relied heavily on his strong performance (22 points, +24 rating in 39 games) to win the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan championship and gain promotion back to the Swedish Hockey League for 2024-25.
It’s a neat bookend for Benn, who opts to end his pro career on a high note. In his NHL minutes, he recorded a very respectable 26 goals, 111 assists, 137 points, and a +19 rating while averaging 17:28 per contest. He tended to have positive possession quality impacts at even strength over the course of his career, posting a 50.8 xG%, per Hockey Reference.
Benn is about to welcome his third child, he told Haysom, but hopes to work in a front-office role in some capacity when the time is right. All of us at PHR congratulate him on a lengthy run in the pros and wish him the best in his next chapter.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Alex Goligoski Confirms Retirement
Free agent defenseman Alex Goligoski is hanging up his skates, he confirmed to Joe Smith of The Athletic. It’s the expected outcome after reports in June indicated he wasn’t expected back with the Wild, where he spent the final three seasons of his career.
“I think I’ve known for a while,” Goligoski told Smith. “Do you hang around and see if some team wants to throw some money at you? I have no desire to move my family. No desire to go by myself and do all that. That’s the most amazing thing about finishing in Minnesota. It makes it easier to say, ‘Hey, I’m good.’”
“…I think it’s the longevity of it, honestly. I can totally see where it’d be very difficult if you’re not planning on being done, where it’s like you don’t get a contract but you’re still younger. It feels to me like I’ve had my fun, I’ve done it long enough. I’m good to step away and move on.”
Goligoski, 39, was a second-round pick by the Penguins in 2004 before starting a three-year run at the University of Minnesota. The Grand Rapids, Minnesota native turned pro with Pittsburgh for the 2007-08 campaign, playing parts of four seasons in the Steel City before being sent to the Stars in a blockbuster swap for James Neal and Matt Niskanen.
A top-pairing option for much of the 2010s in Dallas, Goligoski’s signing rights were traded to the Coyotes just days before becoming a free agent in 2016 and quickly signed a five-year, $27.38MM deal. He continued to hold down top-four minutes there for the life of that contract before signing a one-year, $5MM deal with the Wild, his hometown club, in 2021. He signed a two-year, $4MM deal to extend his stay in the State of Hockey the following summer, which expired this June.
The writing was on the wall for Goligoski after last season, which saw him limited to 10 assists in 36 games while averaging 14:49 per game and serving as a healthy scratch for long stretches of the season. He hasn’t been a top-of-the-lineup option since his days in Arizona, but he did remain a capable puck-moving presence in a limited role after joining the Wild.
Goligoski was one of the league’s 10 oldest players last season. Three players ahead of him on the list – Jeff Carter, Zach Parise, and Joe Pavelski – had already retired this summer, making Goligoski the sixth-oldest active player in the league at the time of his retirement.
His first season as an NHL regular saw him lift the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2009, appearing in 45 regular-season games and two playoff games en route to the championship win. Over 1,078 regular-season games, he scored 87 goals, 388 assists, and 475 points and posted a +55 rating while averaging 21:55 per night. He added 21 points in 47 playoff games in six trips to the postseason (2009, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2020, and 2022).
While ending his playing days, Goligoski hopes to kick off a career in an NHL front office soon. “I’ve always liked breaking down what teams do and why they do it,” he told Smith. “I have a good sense of the right way to do things. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen the right way and the wrong way to do things. I think it’d be something I’m good at. So we’ll see.” He doesn’t have an official role with the Wild, but Smith reports Wild general manager Bill Guerin will be open to hiring him once he’s ready to begin the next phase of his hockey career.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Marc Staal Retires, Joins Rangers As Development Coach
Veteran defenseman Marc Staal has announced his retirement after 17 seasons. He’s immediately beginning his front office career with the Rangers as a player development assistant, the team announced.
For Staal, it’s a return to where his NHL career began nearly two decades ago. The No. 12 pick in the 2005 draft by the Rangers, he was the third Staal brother to reach the NHL, following Eric Staal with the Hurricanes and Jordan Staal with the Penguins.
Staal, now 37, spent two post-draft seasons back in junior hockey with the Ontario Hockey League’s Sudbury Wolves before becoming a full-time fixture on the New York blue line immediately upon turning pro in 2007. He challenged for top-four minutes in his rookie season, posting 10 points and a +2 rating in 80 games while averaging nearly 19 minutes per night en route to finishing 12th in Calder Trophy voting in 2007-08.
By the time his entry-level deal expired, Staal was averaging over 22 minutes per game and had become one of the better stay-at-home defenders in the league on a team consistently in the playoff race. He also contributed a decent amount of offense, posting 27 points in his final ELC year of 2009-10 – all at even strength. That led the Blueshirts to give him a five-year, $19.88MM payday after a somewhat lengthy holdout during the 2010 offseason, putting pen to paper on the deal just around when training camp began in September.
Staal would remain a top-four fixture for the Rangers throughout the 2010s, signing a six-year, $34.2MM extension on top of his previous deal in 2015 to avoid becoming an unrestricted free agent. He helped guide the Rangers to the 2014 Eastern Conference championship, although they lost the Stanley Cup Final in five games to the Kings. His top showing was inarguably the 2010-11 campaign, when he recorded a career-high 22 assists, 29 points, and averaged 25:44 per game en route to receiving Norris Trophy votes for the only time in his career.
The stalwart defender saw his usage drop early on in that six-year extension, though, and he was a bottom-pairing option by the time the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020. With one year left on his deal, the Rangers attached a second-round pick for the Red Wings to take on the final season of his contract. He’d spent two seasons on a rebuilding Detroit club, signing a one-year pact to extend his stay, before landing with the Panthers as a free agent for the 2022-23 campaign.
Staal seemed to get some life back in South Florida, playing alongside brother Eric for the second time (Eric had a brief stint with the Rangers in 2016). He appeared in all 82 games for the third time in his career and posted 15 points with a +10 rating, sliding into top-four spot duty alongside Brandon Montour. He was held without a point in 21 playoff games but averaged nearly 21 minutes per night as Florida charged through to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, ultimately losing to the Golden Knights.
A reunion wasn’t in the cards, though, leaving Staal to land a one-year, $1.1MM deal in free agency with the Flyers last summer. He was relegated to fringe usage as a No. 7 option, though, making only 35 appearances and averaging 13:49 per game.
For his career, Staal scored 53 goals, 181 assists, and 234 points and posted a +52 rating while averaging 19:56 per game across 1,136 regular season appearances. He also totaled 20 points, a -17 rating and averaged 21:46 per game in 128 playoff games with Florida and New York. He’ll be working with the organization’s defense prospects in his development role, per Larry Brooks of the New York Post.
Larry Brooks of the New York Post was first to report Staal’s retirement and development role with the Rangers.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Oscar Klefbom Confirms Retirement
Aug. 20: According to the NHL Alumni Association, Klefbom officially filed retirement paperwork today.
Aug. 8: Former Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom, who hasn’t played a game since August 2020 due to a shoulder injury, has confirmed his retirement, via Rasmus Kagstrom of Hockey Sverige.
“It is as it is. I wasn’t quite done with hockey as a sport. But now it’s over,” Klefbom said (translated from Swedish). “I am very happy with my career. I’m just grateful that I got the chance to play as many games as I did – even though it was as an injury. I gained a lot of trust, got to take part in a fantastic journey. There are really two sides to the coin – because although I am grateful, I would have liked to be here today. On the ice. As a player.”
Klefbom also confirmed he played with his eventual career-ending shoulder injury throughout nearly all of his seven-year NHL career. Regarding the wait to officially announce his retirement, the 31-year-old said: “It was a choice I made. I talked to Edmonton that I wanted to lay very low with what was going to happen and what the situation is. They were perfectly ‘fine’ with that. From my side, it was also because I thought it was so difficult to talk about it.”
For a brief time, Klefbom was one of the league’s premier two-way defenders. Selected 19th overall in 2011 out of Sweden’s Farjestad BK, Klefbom remained in his home country for two more seasons before making the jump to North America in 2013-14.
He was mostly an AHLer in his first season, suiting up in 48 contests for the Oklahoma City Barons. But he did get a taste of NHL action, posting three points in 17 appearances. It wasn’t much of an impact, but he’d make a large jump in his development in the 2014 offseason and became a staple of the Oilers’ top four in just his second season in the system.
Klefbom would go on to play 378 games in an Edmonton sweater, scoring 34 goals and 122 assists for 156 points (0.41 per game). He had a career -64 rating, understandable for a player routinely averaging north of 22 minutes per game on an Oilers club that only made the playoffs twice in his tenure. His even strength possession numbers on the whole were positive, logging a 1.4 relative CF% and 50.1 xGF% at even strength, per Hockey Reference. He was a major part of Edmonton’s power play and penalty kill units, especially near the end of his abbreviated career.
The Karlstad native has been a UFA for over a year after his seven-year, $29.17MM contract with the Oilers expired in 2023. He spent the final three seasons of the contract entirely on long-term injured reserve.
Klefbom made clear in his interview that he wants to return to hockey in some capacity, but whether that’s in the NHL or Sweden remains to be seen.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.