Oscar Klefbom is one of the biggest “what-if” stories in Edmonton Oilers history. He was an incredibly promising player, bound to become the number-one defender on the team for many years to come, and he had his career derailed by injuries and health issues.
Although he has been presumed to be retired for many seasons now, having not played since 2019–20, his status has finally been confirmed. Oscar Klefbom has officially retired.
Oscar Klefbom’s career
Originally drafted in the first round, 19th overall, in the 2011 NHL Draft, Klefbom was a defender with high promise. He was playing in the Swedish Elite League (now SHL) at times in his draft year.
After the draft, Klefbom continued developing in Sweden for a couple of seasons before making the trip to North America for the 2013–14 season.
Klefbom quickly worked his way up through the organization, starting with the Oklahoma City Barons of the AHL but getting himself into the Oilers lineup by the end of that season.
By 2014–15, he was a mainstay in the Oilers lineup and quickly became one of the team’s top defenders. His game was a fantastic balance of offence and defence made better by his impressive skating and hockey IQ.
The best season of his career was 2016–17, in which he played all 82 games and had 38 points in the regular season, with another five points in 12 playoff games. This includes the first playoff goal scored by an Oiler in over a decade.
Unfortunately, Klefbom’s injury issues started to catch up to him. He had always had shoulder issues, even before joining the Oilers, and after years of continued physical play and taking hits on it, his shoulder was getting bad. It wasn’t always his shoulder, he missed significant time in 2015–16 with a broken knuckle and a subsequent infection.
He would begin to regularly miss 20 games per season over the next few years but still remain the Oilers’ top defender alongside Adam Larsson.
However, the shoulder injuries were causing severe pain and the beginnings of arthritis, which was limiting his mobility, causing excessive pain, and causing long-term damage and risks to his health and shoulder long-term.
Klefbom’s last game came in the 2020 bubble playoffs when the Oilers were eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks. He was absent at training camp the following season after undergoing shoulder surgery. He ended up missing the entire season recovering and rehabbing that.
News of his injury and health began to raise questions about if we would ever see him back on the ice.
Unfortunately, we did not.
Impact of Klefbom’s injury on the Oilers
To this day, Klefbom holds a soft spot in the hearts of Oilers fans for his potential career that was cut short and significantly altered the path of Edmonton’s rebuild.
He was supposed to be the number one defender on the top pairing, eating the difficult minutes and playing in all situations. But once he was out, there was a huge hole to fill. And that responsibility fell on Darnell Nurse, who was not able to replace everything Klefbom provided at that stage in his career.
The Oilers then had to scramble to fill those gaps in the lineup and cycled through countless left defenders in the hopes that one of them would work. And it wasn’t until another Swedish defender, Mattias Ekholm, was acquired that the hole left by Klefbom’s absence was filled.
With another young Swedish defender in Philip Broberg making his way up the depth chart with an impressive performance in the 2024 playoffs, things may finally be settling down.
Interestingly, Broberg scored a slap shot goal in the playoffs that was eerily similar to the one Klefbom scored in 2017.
Future for Klefbom?
All indications point to Klefbom being in a good place health-wise at the moment. His shoulder is feeling as good as it can and is usable for him in day-to-day life. But obviously, the rigours of a hockey career are too much for it to handle.
Klefbom, however, is itching to get back into hockey, according to an interview with Värmlands Folkblad.
“I am 31 years old and itching to get back. I am fresh enough that I want to go out and hit Joel Eriksson Ek down in the corner. I don’t feel old enough to sit at home and enjoy a retired life.”
After his heartwarming appearance on the big screen during the Oilers’ run to the Cup Final last season, we know that there is a ton of love for Klefbom in Oil Country.
We wish him the best in retirement from his playing career. And I probably don’t speak for just myself when I say that I secretly hope the return to hockey includes an appearance with the Edmonton Oilers in some role and capacity.
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