Former Detroit Red Wings star Petr Klima dies at age 58
Petr Klima, whose dazzling style enthralled Detroit Red Wings fans in the 1980s, has died.
Klima was discovered in his home in Chomutov, according to reports from his native Czechia, with no further details. He was 58.
Klima was drafted 86th overall by the Wings in 1983. He spent four full seasons with the Wings from 1985 to 1989 before being part of a blockbuster trade to the Edmonton Oilers during the 1989-90 season. He eventually returned to the Red Wings for the 1998-1999 season, appearing in 13 games before retiring.
Klima was smuggled out of communist Czechoslovakia by the Wings in 1985, four years before the Iron Curtain fell. From 1985 to 1988, he had three consecutive 30-goal seasons.
He was part of the group that helped bury the “Dead Wings,” along with fellow ’83 draft class selections Steve Yzerman and Bob Probert. But Klima’s off-ice troubles eventually led to the Wings sending Klima, Joe Murphy, Adam Graves and Jeff Sharples to the Oilers for Jimmy Carson, Kevin McClelland and a fifth-round pick in the ’91 draft.
In 786 games across 13 seasons in the NHL, the right winger scored 313 regular season goals and added 260 as A STAR
READ MORE:Detroit Red Wings squander 4-goal lead in 6-5 OT loss to Sharks
Patrick Kane’s debut was overshadowed by a stunning seven-minute stretch of the second period that saw the Detroit Red Wings build a four-goal lead — and then squander it.
Their collapse against the San Jose Sharks, one of the worst teams in the NHL, came on the night the Wings welcomed Kane to the lineup, a week after he picked Detroit to resume his career. He got to see glimpses of the best of the Wings on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena, and also of their worst, and in the end, a 6-5 loss in overtime.
It was such an odd game — mediocre at the start, not much happening at times, and then an explosion and an implosion in the last half of the second period. Klim Kostin, Michael Rasmussen (twice) and Lucas Raymond combined for four straight goals, but then the Sharks scored twice during a Detroit power play, and twice more at even strength to even it at 4-4. In all, seven goals were scored in 6:46. The Sharks scored their four in 4:29.
Kane was open to take a good shot early in the third period, but his shot went off a post. Dylan Larkin brought a lively crowd on its feet when he finished a nice feed from Raymond to give the Wings a 5-4 lead with 6:40 to play, but Tomas Hertl scored his second of the game with 1:29 to play, after the Sharks had pulled their goalie for the extra attacker.
Mikael Granlund then scored 37 seconds into OT.
Ville Husso made 34 saves through regulation; the Wings had 31 shots on net in that span.
Giving up leads has been a trend over the past week: The Wings built a four-goal lead Tuesday at Buffalo before sweating out a 5-3 victory, and blew 3-0 and 4-2 leads at Montreal on Saturday before winning, 5-4, in overtime.
The Wings started like a team taking its opponent for granted, and the Sharks took advantage by forechecking hard and generating offensive-zone time. Ville Husso made 14 saves the first 20 minutes, including a handful during a power play alone, as the Sharks did a good job maintaining possession. Mackenzie Blackwood made seven saves, two of them on Kane. He had a wrist shot early in the period, and a better chance late in the period when he was open in front of the net and Jeff Petry got him the puck.
After no goals for nearly half the game, there was an flurry of scoring starting at 9:05 of the second period. Kostin scored when he hustled to get to a loose puck off a draw. Rasmussen was credited for two goals 13 seconds apart when shots fired by Daniel Sprong and Ben Chiarot, respectively, deflected in off Rasmussen. Raymond joined in the fun at 13:40. The Sharks called a timeout — whatever was said, or not said, it worked — mostly because the Wings couldn’t stop giving up easy offense. Hertl stuck it to the Wings with a shorthanded goal at 14:08, and then Fabian Zetterlund did the same at at 14:46 and Nico Sturm capped the rally with goals at 15:52 and 19:37.
Filip Zadina, who left the Wings under mutually disappointing circumstances this summer, waved off the “Welcome back” display played on the LCA video screen during a timeout in the first period. In five seasons after the Wings drafted him at No. 6 in 2018, Zadina never showed the scoring touch he did in juniors. Thursday marked his first appearance at LCA since requesting to have his contract terminated after general manager Steve Yzerman was unable to accommodate Zadina’s trade request. The termination saved the Wings $1.825 million in salary cap space and $4.56 million in actual salary over the next two seasons. Zadina signed for $1.1 million on a one-year deal with San Jose. He took five points and a minus-19 rating into Thursday’s game.
