Legendary Stanley Cup Champion Dies at 58, Leaving Lasting Impact on Hockey

The hockey world has lost another legend. It is being reported that Petr Klima has passed away at the age of 58. No cause of death has been given.

Klima first came to the NHL in the mid-80s at a time when players from what was then Czechoslovakia had to sneak out of their country in order to play hockey in North America.

He was the first Czechoslovak born player after the Stastny brothers to defect straight to an NHL team. Klima's defection was set up by the Detroit Red Wings, with Klima ditching his Czechoslovak national teammates during a team meal at a training camp in West Germany to join Wings executive vice-president Jim Lites and assistant coach Nick Polano at an undisclosed location. This happened on August 18th, 1985. It was several days after that that he finally made it to North America.

Klima played four seasons with the Red Wings before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers. It was there that he won a Stanley Cup with the team in 1990. Following that, he played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, LA Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, and short stints for both the Red Wings and Oilers again before returning home to two seasons to play and then retiring. He finished his NHL career with 313 goals and 573 points in 786 regular season games.

Klima was not without controversy. Detroit suspended him and teammate Bob Probert indefinitely in 1988 for breaking team rules. Detroit vowed to not let Klima back with the team until he had his drinking under control. Klima returned a few months later and offered an heartfelt apology to teammates for his behaviour, vowing that it would not happen again. Although he was clean, Klima continued to room with Probert while in Detroit. Probert was dealing with some alcohol and drug related issues at the time.

Klima's twin sons Kelly and Kevin play in the Czech Extraliga. Both spent time in the AHL before returning home.

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