Klíma was drafted in the fifth round (86th overall) of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings.[1]
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.[2] 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,[3] making him the first Czech player to defect directly to a U.S.-based team[4] 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.[2][3] After his defection was planned, Klíma ditched his Czechoslovak national teammates during a team meal at the Czechoslovak training camp in Nußdorf am Inn, West Germany,[5][3] to join Wings executive vice-president Jim Lites and assistant coach Nick Polano at an undisclosed location on 18 August 1985. Several days were then spent in the effort to bring Klíma to North America, after Lites and Polano, who had flown to Germany on 15 August 1985, kept Klíma under wraps in Nussdorf and other cities to avoid pursuit by Czechoslovak police.[5] Polano stayed with Klíma as Lites and other Wings officials arranged for him to gain refugee status to enter the United States. The Wings were assisted by U.S. Attorney GeneralEdwin Meese and U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lowell Jensen in expediting the political asylum process.[6]
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,[citation needed] when Detroit scout Alex Davidson secretly met with Klíma in December 1983.[7] Klíma told Davidson he would not consider defecting until he had completed his military duty (so as not to be labeled a deserter) in 1985.[citation needed] Less than a year later, at the 1984 Canada Cup, Klíma began talking to the Wings about the possibility of coming to the NHL after the 1984–85 season.[citation needed] During that time, while in Vancouver with the Czechoslovak team, he even signed a secret multiyear contract with the Red Wings.[7] Klíma, who spoke no English when he finally arrived in Detroit on 22 September 1985,[8] 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.[9]
NHL playing career
Klíma played four full seasons with the Wings (from 1985 until 1989) before being traded during the 1989–90 season to the Oilers (along with Joe Murphy, Adam Graves, and Jeff Sharples) for Jimmy Carson, Kevin McClelland, and a fifth round draft pick in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.[citation needed] Klima scored the game-winning goal in the longest Stanley Cup Finals game in history, in the third overtime of Game 1 of the 1990 Finals against Andy Moog of the Boston Bruins despite having not played at all in the third period, nor the first two OT periods.[10] He played for the Oilers until 1993, winning the Stanley Cup in 1990.[11] 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.[12][13] 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.[4] Asked which jersey number he wanted to wear, Klíma chose the number 85 in recognition of the year of his defection and his first year in the NHL.[9]
Klíma's disciplinary woes
Although he was one of Detroit's bigger stars in the late 1980s, Klíma was also a problem for the Red Wings management. That situation came to a head during training camp on 23 September 1988, when Detroit suspended Klíma indefinitely, along with Bob Probert, for breaking team rules. At the time of the suspension, the Wings said they would trade Klíma, although this never happened. The team also said it would not take Klíma back until he had his drinking under control. As a result, Klíma missed the start of the 1988–89 season before being reinstated on 13 October, and sent to Adirondack (AHL) on 16 October.[14] He finally made his 1988–89 NHL regular season debut during Detroit's 6 November, game versus the Edmonton where he posted an assist.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17]
Personal life and death
Klíma's father Joseph was also a hockey player, who played internationally for Czechoslovakia.[18] Klíma was married, and with his wife Irina had a daughter, Jessi and twin sons, Kelly and Kevin.[19] Both Kelly and Kevin are hockey players, and signed one-year contracts with the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League in 2018.[20] At the time of Petr's death, Kelly was playing in the Czech Republic.
Klíma died on 4 May 2023, at his home in Chomutov, at the age of 58.[9][21][11]
^ abcJames, Helene St. (4 October 2022). "22. Czech Mate". On the Clock: Detroit Red Wings: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft (Paperback ed.). Triumph Books. pp. 178–184. ISBN9781629379852.
Pinchevsky, Tal (2012). Breakaway: From Behind the Iron Curtain to the NHL – The Untold Story of Hockey's Great Escapes. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN978-1118095003.
