Petr Klima Petr Klíma ( born December 23 , 1964 in Chomutov , Czechoslovakia ) was a forward in the National Hockey League . He played for the Detroit Red Wings , Edmonton Oilers , Tampa Bay Lightning , Los Angeles Kings , and the Pittsburgh Penguins . He also played part of a season with the IHL Cleveland Lumberjacks and two seasons in the Czech leagues . Early career and defection . By the time Klíma was 20 years old , officials on his Dukla Jihlava team knew that the Detroit Red Wings were eager to bring the young star to the NHL . Rumors were rampant that the Wings were trying to pay off Czechoslovakian authorities to get Klíma out of his native country , but despite all the hype that surrounded him , Czech hockey authorities made no real effort to clamp down and prevent Klíma from traveling in Europe . As a result , Klíma managed to defect to North America during the summer of 1985 , making him the first Czech player to defect directly to a U . S . - based team rather than one of the NHL ' s Canadian teams which had smuggled several Czechs out of Europe in the past . Detroit ' s bold move was entirely orchestrated by the Red Wings , who knew that Klíma was eager to play in North America . After his defection was planned , Klíma ditched his Czech national teammates during a team meal at the Czech training camp in Nussdorf , West Germany , to join Wings executive vice - president Jim Lites and assistant coach Nick Polano at an undisclosed location on Aug 18 , 1985 . Several days were then spent in the effort to bring Klíma to North America , after Lites and Polano , who had flown to Germany on Aug 15 , 1985 , kept Klíma under wraps in Nussdorf and other cities to avoid pursuit by Czech police . Polano stayed with Klíma as Lites and other Wings officials arranged for him to gain refugee status to enter the United States . The Wings were assisted by U . S . attorney general Edwin Meese and deputy attorney general Lowell Jensen in expediting the political - asylum process . It was later revealed that plans to get Klíma out of Czechoslovakia reached back as far as the 1984 World Junior Championships , held in Sweden , when Detroit scout Alex Davidson secretly met with Klíma in December 1983 . Klíma told Davidson he would not consider defecting until he had completed his military duty ( so as not to be labeled a deserter ) in 1985 . Less than a year later , at the 1984 Canada Cup , Klíma began talking to the Wings about the possibility of coming the NHL after the 1984 – 85 season . During that time , while in Vancouver with the Czech team , he even signed a secret multiyear contract with the Red Wings . Polano had brought the contract to Klíma without Czech officials realizing it . Klíma , who spoke no English when he finally arrived in Detroit on Sep 22 , 1985 , was fortunate that the Red Wings also managed to bring his girlfriend to the U . S . In honor of his successful defection , a grateful and overjoyed Klíma requested sweater number 85 and wore it throughout his NHL career as a reminder of the year in which he gained freedom . Klíma was drafted in the fifth round ( 88th overall ) of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft by the Red Wings . He played his junior hockey with the CHZ Litvinov team . NHL playing career . Klíma played four full seasons with the Wings ( from 1985 until 1989 ) before being traded to the Oilers ( along with Joe Murphy and Adam Graves ) during the 1989 – 90 season . He scored the winning goal in the third overtime of game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Boston Bruins . He played for the Oilers until 1993 , winning the Stanley Cup in 1990 . In 1993 Klima was acquired by the Lightning . Klíma remained with the Lightning for three seasons , until 1996 . He split the 1996 – 97 season between the Lumberjacks , Kings , Penguins , and Oilers , and was released in 1997 . He played in the DEL in 1997 – 98 , then attempted a comeback with the Wings in 1998 . He retired from the NHL in 1999 , and then played from 2001 – 2003 in the Czech leagues before retiring for good . Klíma ' s disciplinary woes . Although he was one of Detroit ' s bigger stars in the late 1980s , Petr Klíma was also a problem for the Red Wings management . That situation came to a head during training camp on Sep 23 , 1988 , when Detroit suspended Klíma indefinitely , along with Bob Probert , for breaking team rules . At the time of the suspension , the Wings said they would trade Klíma , although this never happened . The team also said it would not take Klíma back until he had his drinking under control . As a result , Klíma missed the start of the 1988 – 89 season before being reinstated on Oct . 13 , 1988 , and sent to Adirondack ( AHL ) on Oct 16 , 1988 . He finally made his 1988 – 89 NHL regular - season debut during Detroit ' s Nov 6 , 1988 , game vs . Edmonton where he posted an assist . At his first practice with the team , on Nov 5 , 1988 , Klíma offered a heartfelt apology to his Wings teammates for his earlier behavior , much of which was alcohol - related . During his months back , Klíma roomed with Probert , who was also attempting to beat a drinking problem . Klíma managed to stay clean , but Probert wasn ' t so lucky as his addiction got him in further trouble .