Real reason why Oscar Klefbom ended his career

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Joshua Deeds
July 21, 2023 (10:05 PM)

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The talented Oscar Klefbom played exclusively for Edmonton during the brief time that he stayed in the NHL. He retired(unofficially) after such a short career in the NHL.

After the Edmonton Oilers were eliminated from the bubble players of 2020 in August, Klefbom would ultimately end his career in the NHL only months later.

Way to minimize the reality of his injury. It isn't an "Aching shoulder", it is career ending ARTHRITIS that not even surgery can correct. Yes now he can enjoy lifting his kids again, but he will never play again.

It was aching when he played. It was diagnosed as arthritis. I wasn't minimizing his problem

After a short season and a shoulder issue that had deteriorated to the point where he was arthritic and chronic, the young defenseman reached the end of his career at that point in his career.

In his case, he has such a terrible case of arthritis in his shoulder that no amount of surgery is going to be able to fix it.

There haven't been any steady or reliable pairings among the Oilers' top-4 pairings since he has left, and it is all rotational.

A number of names rotated through the top four LD spots this season, including Kris Russell, Caleb Jones, William Lagesson, and Slater Koekkoek before Mattias Ekholm finally snagged the top spot this season.

As he hasn't officially retired yet, Klefbom remains on the team's books and is on LTIR for the time being, as his last contract was signed in 2022. Klefbom's overall AAV is $7 Million and he will be off the books very soon.

It is unfortunate for both him and the Edmonton Oilers that he suffered this career-ending injury in the course of his career.