Per-Erik Eklund

Per-Erik Eklund starting playing hockey with AIK Solna in 1981 and soon rose to be one of the top players at the Swedish championships. He won a Swedish title in 1984, the same year he was awarded the Guldpucken award as the best player at the Swedish championships, becoming the youngest ever recipient of the award at age 21. In 1984 he was also selected to the Swedish championships all-star team.

Eklund was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL in 1983 and joined the club in 1985, playing the next nine seasons with them. With the Flyers, Eklund made a name for himself as a slick playmaking center, topping the 50 assist mark on three occasions. He was also noted for his gentlemanly play, always finishing amongst the least-penalized players in the NHL. The high point of his career came in the 1987 playoffs, when his outstanding play helped carry Philadelphia to the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals, as his 27 points were fourth in overall scoring and his 20 assists second to only Wayne Gretzky. In 1991, Eklund won the Bobby Clarke Trophy as the Flyer’s most valuable player. Eklund was traded to the Dallas Stars at the end of the 1993-94 season, but played only five games with them before returning to Europe.

Eklund finished his career with Leksands IF from 1994-99. He was awarded the Guldhjälmen award as the MVP of the 1995 Swedish championships, the same year he was the top scorer at the Swedish championships. Internationally, Eklund was capped 126 times with the Swedish national team. He won Olympic bronze in 1984 and was on six World Championships teams, winning gold in 1991 and silvers in 1986, 1990 and 1995. He was also runner-up at the 1984 Canada Cup, won gold at the 1990 European Championships and silvers at the 1986 and 1991 European Championships. Eklund was awarded the Stora Grabbars Märke (Big Boys’ Badge) #127 in ice hockey.

After finishing his sporting career, Eklund worked as an assistant coach for Leksands IF. He was also a scout for the Montréal Canadiens until 2010, and has since been a scout for the Edmonton Oilers. Two of his children became excellent athletes, with daughter Nathalie a top alpine skier, and son Daniel an ice hockey player.