The defensive corps the Oilers had solidified at the beginning of the season had been picked apart by injury as they neared the conclusion of their campaign, and Klefbom was feeling the helplessness of his situation more than ever.

"I was staying in the best physical and mental shape I could. I was in the gym three hours a day for months. But seeing the boys struggling on the ice, I just wanted to help."

But he couldn't.

"You feel powerless."

After accepting the fate of his season, Klefbom turned his attention to off-season recovery. If time was the only way to see the stubborn issue through, the young blueliner was prepared to be patient.

In fact, the next step to his recovery over the summer was patience alone. Klefbom was to leave the area alone, completely, including restricting much of his physical training to let his body build up the tissue as much as possible. Progress was steady and the next stop was Montreal to see a skate specialist, who, like Klefbom, was navigating uncharted territory.

"They had all these molds of other NHL players who had issues with their feet and required special skates. But no one really had issues in the same spot I did, so it was new for them as well," he said. "They were very excited because they wanted to solve the problem too. It was a learning process for us both."

A few trial runs later, and Klefbom found his fit. The right combination of padding and height on the skate boot was found. The issue was behind him, the area had healed and the skates were perfect.

Klefbom could now turn his attention to the ice, and unlike before when the finish line seemed blurry and ever-changing, the d-man could realistically set his sights on the 2016-17 season and picking up where he left off.