Top 100 Oilers: No. 37 — Petr Klima |
Oilersnation is reviving the Top 100 Edmonton Oilers of All Time list, a project originally created by the late Robin Brownlee in 2015. Petr Klima comes in at No. 37 on our updated 2025 list. He was ranked No. 33 on Brownlee’s original list.
The 1989-90 Edmonton Oilers were truly something special.
Just one season removed from the gut-wrenching loss of the greatest player in NHL history, there was noise around the team who had spent the 80s having immense success and claiming four Stanley Cups. It was the golden era of Oilers hockey.
Now heading into the ’90’s, the Oilers looked to have the same success that they had in the decade prior. Except this time, they were missing a crucial piece of their ’80s dominance.
In acquiring a plethora of depth players, the Oilers managed to prove that their team was more than just No. 99. One of these players was Petr Klima, who sits at No. 37 on our Top 100 Oilers list.
Notable
It was game one of the 1990 Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins.
Kurri and MacTavish were rushing up the ice in the third overtime period, seeking to end the longest playoff game in NHL history at the time.
As Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal wrote at the time, “Klima hadn’t played since the second period as Muckler cut his bench down.”
That’s over three periods of sitting for Klima before he was relieved of his bench-warming duties. Oilers’ coach John Muckler made the correct decision putting him out there with MacTavish and Kurri.
Klima was the trailer, rushing up the ice behind the two superstars. Kurri had the puck. He dropped it back to Klima, who fired a shot from the offensive zone face-off dot. Next thing the crowd knew, the puck was........