Best Penguins By Jersey Number: #85

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ organizational history has a plethora of great players, and we’ve decided to go through the best Penguins’ players to wear each jersey number. Today, we continue the list by naming the best #85 in Penguins’ history.

There has only been one player in franchise history to wear #85, and he was with the Penguins for a total of nine games. He may not have been a Penguin for very long, but he was still a good NHL player nonetheless.

The best and only #85 in Penguins history is Petr Klima.

Klima was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round of the 1983 NHL Draft. During his first season in 1985-86, he quickly established himself as a sniper in the league, scoring 32 goals in his rookie campaign and 30-plus in each of his first three seasons. But some off-ice issues – namely with alcohol – ultimately led to his eventual departure from the organization.

He was traded to the Edmonton Oilers during the 1989-90 season, which is where the most iconic moment of his career – his goal during Game 1 of the 1990 Stanley Cup Final in the third overtime to end the longest Stanley Cup Final game in NHL history. He won his only Stanley Cup that season.

He spent three seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 1993-96 before playing with three different teams – the Los Angeles Kings, Penguins, and Oilers – during the 1996-97 season. In his nine games with the Penguins, he registered a goal and four points.

Klima played parts of one more season with the Red Wings in an attempt to return to the NHL in 1998-99. He scored just one goal in 13 games. Over the course of his NHL career, he registered 313 goals and 573 points in 786 games – including 10 seasons of 20-plus goals, six seasons of 30-plus goals, and one 40-goal season in 1990-91.