Kevin R. Klein (born December 13, 1984) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

who played for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

and the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He was selected in the second round, 37th overall, by the

at the

2003 NHL Entry Draft The 2003 NHL Entry Draft was the 41st NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee on June 21 and 22, 2003. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. This wa ...

. He completed his 15 year career playing two seasons as an alternate captain of the

ZSC Lions The Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions (ZSC Lions) are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League (NL). Their home arena is the 12,000-seat Swiss Life Arena. The team was founded in 1930 and play ...

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

(NL).

Playing career

Klein was drafted by the

in the second round, 37th overall, at the

. He played four years of junior hockey in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

(OHL), three with the Toronto St. Michael's Majors and one with the

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Marl ...

. Following junior hockey, he played the majority of the next three seasons with the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...

, Nashville's

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) affiliate. During the 2006–07 season on January 26, 2007, Klein scored his first career NHL goal, which came against the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

. On July 16, 2008, Klein signed a two-year, $1.3 million contract extension with the Predators. He played a total 63 games with the Predators in the 2008–09 season. In the following season, 2009–10, Klein played his first full season with the Predators, recording two goals and 16 assists for 18 points in 81 games. In September 2012, Nashville signed Klein to a five-year, $14.5 million contract extension. He responded by scoring three goals and handing out 11 assists for 14 points in 47 games during the

lockout Lockout may refer to: * Lockout (industry), a type of work stoppage **Dublin Lockout, a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers 1913 - 1914 * Lockout (sports), lockout in sports leagues **MLB lockout, lock ...

-shortened 2012–13 season. On January 22, 2014, Klein was traded by the Predators to the

in exchange for defenseman

Michael Del Zotto Michael Del Zotto (born June 24, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in ...

. On December 9, 2014, Klein lost part of his left ear on a high stick in the first period of a game against the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

. He had it stitched back on, came back to play, and scored the game-winning goal in overtime. In the 2016–17 season, Klein suffered from back spasms and remained a healthy scratch by New York for most of the teams post-season run. In the offseason, on July 7, at the age of 32, Klein forfeited nearly $3 million in salary from the final one year left on his contract with the Rangers in announcing his retirement from the NHL. Having expressed desire in continuing his career abroad, on July 14, 2017, Klein signed a one-year contract with the

of the

(NL). He made his NL debut on September 8, 2017, against the

SCL Tigers SC Langnau Tigers are a professional ice hockey team from Langnau im Emmental, Switzerland. They play in the National League (NL). The team plays its home games in the 6,000-seat Ilfis Stadium, which is currently one of the smallest arenas in the ...

at the

Ilfis Stadium Ilfis Stadium is an indoor sporting arena built in 1975, located in Langnau i.E., Switzerland. The capacity of the arena is 6,000. It is the home arena of the SCL Tigers ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played o ...

and scored his first goal that same day, an OT game-winning goal. After being crowned Swiss champion in April 2018, Klein signed a one-year contract extension with the Lions on May 23, 2018. Following his second season with the Lions, enduring a disappointing 2018–19 for ZSC in failing to qualify for the post-season, Klein announced his retirement from his professional career on March 25, 2019.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Kevin 1984 births Living people Canadian ice hockey defencemen Guelph Storm players Herlev Hornets players Ice hockey people from Ontario Milwaukee Admirals players Nashville Predators draft picks Nashville Predators players New York Rangers players Sportspeople from Kitchener, Ontario Toronto St. Michael's Majors players ZSC Lions players