Former star Edmonton Oilers defenseman forced to retire due to injuries
Long-time Edmonton Oiler Oscar Klefbom has revealed that his mysterious absence from the team for the last four years was due to a major injury.
Oscar Klefbom has been MIA since August 2020, which was the last time he was seen around the NHL. He mysteriously vanished without a trace and no one knew why. Klefbom finally revealed that a nagging injury forced him to leave the game, and the country.
Kelfbom lives in Sweden now which is his home country, and was recently interviewed about all the details that happened over the last four years. He explained that back when he was playing in his home country in 2012, he suffered a shoulder injury that was so severe, he never truly recovered from it.
The 31-year-old says that the shoulder never really got better. It was tightened up to prevent it from popping out again, which ultimately led to osteoarthritis.
More blows followed, and Klefbom played on painkillers while his body took a beating. His stomach gave up the ghost after a multi-year course of anti-inflammatories and injections."
Klefbom underwent surgery in 2020 to finally deal with his shoulder issue once and for all and hoped to be ready to go for the 2020-21 season, however the surgery did nothing to help him get back in the game, and unfortunately he was unable to ever play again.
Klefbom played seven seasons with the Oilers and only managed to remain healthy for one of those seven years, which was the 2016-17 season, where he suited up in all 82 games and had a career-year with 12 goals, 26 assists and 38 points. He also had a very lovely plus/minus rating of +7. Klefbom also got five points in the playoffs that year.
The Swedish native has admitted that he has not been able to watch a single Oilers game since 2020 because his injuries have taken a huge mental toll on him, and he misses the game so much that watching it would add more pain to what he's already going through.
Klefbom stated that he hopes to be back around the game one day again, possibly in a coaching role.
Source: Daily Faceoff
Former NHL defenseman Oskar Klefbom announces retirement
Source: HockeyDB
Oscar Klefbom Stats
| POLL | ||
AOÛT 8 | 91 ANSWERS Former star Edmonton Oilers defenseman forced to retire due to injuries Will Oscar Klefbom ever coach in the NHL? | ||
| Yes | 25 | 27.5 % |
| No | 66 | 72.5 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Jason Robertson | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Chandler Stephenson | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jalen Chatfield | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mikael Granlund | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Roope Hintz | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Wyatt Johnston | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Montour | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| William Nylander | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mitch Marner | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jaden Schwartz | - | 2 | 2 | |
| John Tavares | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jamie Benn | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Evgeny Dadonov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Yanni Gourde | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Pontus Holmberg | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Fraser Minten | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ryan Poehling | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jack Roslovic | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Daniel Sprong | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Hurricanes | 18 | 14 | 4 | - | 28 | |
Capitals | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 27 | |
Wild | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 27 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Devils | 21 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 17 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
Stars | 18 | 12 | 6 | - | 24 | |
Golden Knights | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 24 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||