Player Discussion Is this the end for Klefbom?

[McJadeddog]

Yeah you have to leave him unprotected. Either they are playing 4D chess with Seattle through the media, and know that he is very likely to come back, or they really don't know and Klefbom is just being honest with his answers. I am personally leaning towards them just being honest. In either case, the risk is WAY too high if you are Seattle in taking him. Leave him unprotected for sure.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Wow that last question from Matheson and Klef's answer. When the Dr. says there's no guarantee that you can play again that is rough. I hope that regardless of his hockey career that he can at least live relatively pain free. Poor guy.

 

[alphahelix]

Yeah you have to leave him unprotected. Either they are playing 4D chess with Seattle through the media, and know that he is very likely to come back, or they really don't know and Klefbom is just being honest with his answers. I am personally leaning towards them just being honest. In either case, the risk is WAY too high if you are Seattle in taking him. Leave him unprotected for sure.

Whats the risk exactly? If we leave him open so we can protect Jones, they are going to have to choose between has beens (Russel etc.) and Never-Weres, or a guy who might anchor their top pairing for the next decade. Picking a dunce like Griffin Reinhart is a risk. Picking a great leader with some health issues is relatively risk free vs. the alternatives. He only gets paid 4 and thatll be on LTIR if there any issues. You go for the homerun if youre seattle 10 times out of 10. No one else will be exposing a better LD. Someone has to play your top pair as an expansion franchise. Worst case scenario hes on LTIR briefly then his contracy expires. Best case scenario youre a lot closer to being a contender.

 

[McOilers97]

Feel bad for Klefbom. If it ends up that he has to walk away from hockey, that sucks, but hopefully he can still do everything else he wants to do in life.

He and I are about the same age, so I know I'd be bummed the hell out if I was facing having to give up my favorite sport during the best athletic years of my life. And I'm just a regular guy with a job that plays sports, not a professional athlete whose entire life revolves around it.

 

[Stealth1616]

It would be a massive fail of this organization to leave him exposed without some extremely inside evidence that he won’t play again.

 

[BarDownBobo]

It’s not like Jones or Lagesson are key cogs on this defense right now, and with Broberg and Samorukov in the system they’ve got the internal prospects coming to replace whichever one of them Seattle would be taking. The good news is that Klef will be having a bunch of follow up appointments before the expansion lists are due, so Holland will be well informed on if he’ll be returning. But to me even if you’re only 80% certain he’ll be back you protect him, because giving a top pairing defenseman to a division rival for nothing is going to hurt a lot more than losing a Jones or Lagesson will.

 

[GMofOilers]

Shoulder replacements are no joke, pretty much get one chance to get it right, and it wont last forever not even playing hockey.

Hes done.

 

[Connor McConnor]

Hearing that interview made me realize how much I freaking love Klef. This team had a real real chance if he was playing at the level he was last year which was maybe his best year ever (2-way game). Without being selfish just hope he does what's right for him and his family but if this guy can somehow come back at 100% I'd be ecstatic.

 

[MessierII]

It would be a massive fail of this organization to leave him exposed without some extremely inside evidence that he won’t play again.

I 100% would not protect him

 

[Chimpradamus]

At least Klefbom had a real shot at performing at his sport. I had a serious injury when I was like 16-17 years old and the "help" I got was downright criminally bad. About 8 years after I had my injury, I finally had my needed surgery. Not much of a career left to go on from there. If Klefbom has to retire, at least he had some good years out of it - and was paid for it.

 

[jukon]

Klefbom is a physical specimen. He probably works out more than any other player on our team. There is zero chance he doesn't come back from this, the only question is whether the surgery fixed the problem. Supposedly the surgery was done by one of the top doctors in the world, so odds are great.

I am excited for the possibility of a motivated, pain free Klefbom. Any doubters will look back to this thread in a year or so and see how foolish they were.

 

[soothsayer]

Klefbom is a physical specimen. He probably works out more than any other player on our team. There is zero chance he doesn't come back from this, the only question is whether the surgery fixed the problem. Supposedly the surgery was done by one of the top doctors in the world, so odds are great.

I am excited for the possibility of a motivated, pain free Klefbom. Any doubters will look back to this thread in a year or so and see how foolish they were.

I get the motivation to be positive, but this is over the top. There is obviously a realistic chance that he never plays hockey again. Didn't his own doctor say as much? I would hope that Holland isn't expecting him to play at all, let alone at a reduced level. Hopeful, yes; but not expecting. Smart people don't set their plans around hope.

 

[jukon]

I get the motivation to be positive, but this is over the top. There is obviously a realistic chance that he never plays hockey again. Didn't his own doctor say as much? I would hope that Holland isn't expecting him to play at all, let alone at a reduced level. Hopeful, yes; but not expecting. Smart people don't set their plans around hope.

Obviously the GM has to have a contingency plan, that's his job. If he doesn't have two or three contingency plans then we have a problem. Im just saying I would never bet against Klefbom. Sure he won't have a documentary about his recovery and rehab, but I expect no less commitment than McDavid had.

 

[nafrelio]

Listened to the whole interview. He seems very optimistic about playing again, but is not making guarantees. Is this not much more optimistic than he was pre-surgery? You need to protect him. Hearing this, I think there's a good chance he'll be back. He's optimistic, his doctor is optimistic. Do you play poker with Seattle over this type of player? Nope.

 

[I am the Liquor]

I get the motivation to be positive, but this is over the top. There is obviously a realistic chance that he never plays hockey again. Didn't his own doctor say as much? I would hope that Holland isn't expecting him to play at all, let alone at a reduced level. Hopeful, yes; but not expecting. Smart people don't set their plans around hope.

Doctors always play up worst case scenarios largely due to our litigious system.

 

[MessierII]

Klefbom is a physical specimen. He probably works out more than any other player on our team. There is zero chance he doesn't come back from this, the only question is whether the surgery fixed the problem. Supposedly the surgery was done by one of the top doctors in the world, so odds are great.

I am excited for the possibility of a motivated, pain free Klefbom. Any doubters will look back to this thread in a year or so and see how foolish they were.

Klef was already the most injury prone player on the team before any of this.

 

[McJadeddog]

Klefbom is a physical specimen. He probably works out more than any other player on our team. There is zero chance he doesn't come back from this, the only question is whether the surgery fixed the problem. Supposedly the surgery was done by one of the top doctors in the world, so odds are great.

I am excited for the possibility of a motivated, pain free Klefbom. Any doubters will look back to this thread in a year or so and see how foolish they were.

I sure hope you are right. But the reality is that some things are bad enough that even the best medical attention can't fix them. There is no doubt that Klefbom will work his butt off to try and make it though, so lets hope it works out (for the Oilers of course, but moreso for Klefbom himself)

 

[McDoused]

So we want to play chicken with Seattle and lose a potential top pairing defenceman, why? Jones or Lagesson are very replaceable. Seattle has to take someone and neither have been regulars in the lineup.

 

[BigFuzzyDice]

I sure hope you are right. But the reality is that some things are bad enough that even the best medical attention can't fix them. There is no doubt that Klefbom will work his butt off to try and make it though, so lets hope it works out (for the Oilers of course, but moreso for Klefbom himself)

Add to that his presser was very pragmatic, He realizes he's only a third of the way through his life at this point and will have to weigh the potential for 2/3's of it to be uncomfortable going forward. Honestly I think after the rehab and reassessing the downside if it gets buggered up again he will opt to pack it in. Not cause he wants to but because he should.

 

[FlameChampion]

Such a likeable guy. I wish him nothing but the best. I hope he has a normalish life outside of hockey.

Based on the interview its tough to really gauge where hes at though for me. Hes obviously really cautious with his answers which is probably the smart move. I get the impression that hes not coming back though if I am being honest. I think you just have to trust Holland to do the right thing in regards to the expansion draft. Klefbom is a really honest guy. If he cant play, I think hes going to tell Holland that he cant. If theres a chance that he can come back though, I think you have to protect him. Jones and Lagesson havent shown enough to take that risk.

 

[trick91]

So we want to play chicken with Seattle and lose a potential top pairing defenceman, why? Jones or Lagesson are very replaceable. Seattle has to take someone and neither have been regulars in the lineup.

This. Losing either Jones or Lagesson isn't a big deal. I dont see either player playing above a bottom pairing role.

 

[Gregsky99]

So we want to play chicken with Seattle and lose a potential top pairing defenceman, why? Jones or Lagesson are very replaceable. Seattle has to take someone and neither have been regulars in the lineup.

Depends. Realistically Klefbom could be hit on opening day and be done forever, or he could play 5 more years where he starts to naturally decline. Let’s just say he’s got 2 years left as that’s his contract. Do you give up a cost controlled young 5-6 d-man (who has top 4 potential) for 2 years of a top pairing guy? Depends how you value klef. Myself personally, I play that game. Seattle is gonna ask why we are leaving him exposed. Not sure what player agents can do in terms of sharing medical info from other teams but if it can’t be shared, the unknown is just too scary from Seattle’s point of view. I like klef but knowing what chronic injuries are like, I pass.

 

[McOilers97]

So we want to play chicken with Seattle and lose a potential top pairing defenceman, why? Jones or Lagesson are very replaceable. Seattle has to take someone and neither have been regulars in the lineup.

The issue that this all comes down to, for me at least, isn't whether he can be a good player again - it's a question of for how long? I get that if he returns to top 4 d-man form he'd be an incredible add to our improved blueline, but if there's a pretty significant risk that he can only maintain that for 1 year, or part of 1 year, is it worth losing someone else in order to keep him for 50-100 more games before he potentially is back on the shelf again and has to retire for good this time?

 

[McOilers97]

Depends. Realistically Klefbom could be hit on opening day and be done forever, or he could play 5 more years where he starts to naturally decline. Let’s just say he’s got 2 years left as that’s his contract. Do you give up a cost controlled young 5-6 d-man (who has top 4 potential) for 2 years of a top pairing guy? Depends how you value klef. Myself personally, I play that game. Seattle is gonna ask why we are leaving him exposed. Not sure what player agents can do in terms of sharing medical info from other teams but if it can’t be shared, the unknown is just too scary from Seattle’s point of view. I like klef but knowing what chronic injuries are like, I pass.

Yep, and I don't see why an expansion team in Seattle's position would risk taking a player that may very well never play for them. There will be some top 4 guys available from other teams without health question marks, and Seattle will take those guys for sure.

 

[McOilers97]

Shoulder replacements are no joke, pretty much get one chance to get it right, and it wont last forever not even playing hockey.

Hes done.

We don't actually know what was done - Klefbom didn't say what his procedure was when asked. "Shoulder replacement" was not confirmed whatsoever.

I think it's highly likely that he's done though.