Although he did not see much action during that time, Kluzak ended up being awarded the Bill Masteron Award in 1990. Unfortunately, Kulzak’s return to the Bruins was short-lived as he went on to appear in only 13 regular season contests from 1988 through 1990, with his last game played being on November 5th, 1990, against the New York Rangers. Kluzak even appeared in all 24 playoff games that year, contributing four goals and 12 points with a plus-six rating and 59 PIM. He helped lead the team to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1988 before eventually falling to the Edmonton Oilers in a four-game sweep. Kluzak’s second comeback to the Boston Bruins would be his most significant return. As the 22-year-old continued to struggle with chronic knee issues and the intense recovery process, he knew his time wasn’t finished in the NHL and once again overcame his knee injury to the point he could participate in the 1987-1988 season. Kluzak re-injured his knee before the start of the 1986-1987 campaign, which prompted yet another invasive knee surgery that would keep the defenseman absent for the entire season. He was also able to remain healthy most of the season, suiting up for 70 games, which at the time gave the Bruins organization the assumption that Kluzak had overcome his knee injury/surgery but would catch up to him once again in September of 1986. Kluzak made his comeback during the 1985-1986 season and rekindled his success on both sides of the ice, including offensively, where he ended up having his most productive year, notching eight goals and 39 points with a whopping 153 PIM. Due to previous knee injuries Kluzak sustained in the WHL, this began to make the road to recovery very difficult and tedious. The torn ligaments were so severe that they required reconstructive knee surgery, resulting in Kulzak missing the 1984-1985 regular season and playoffs.
It was clear as day that Kluzak could provide a bright future for the Bruins’ blue-line, but on October 7th, 1984, Kulzak collided mid-ice with New Jersey Devils defenseman Dave Lewis, resulting in torn ligaments in his left knee.
Kluzak returned the following season as significantly improved, and his numbers exemplified that, racking up ten goals and 37 points with a plus-ten rating while playing all 80 games that season.
Kluzak was also no stranger to hard-nosed, physical play as well as sticking up for his teammates as he racked up 105 PIM with nine fighting majors his rookie year, according to Hockey Fights. Although the defenseman had struggled to produce offensively, producing just one goal and seven points in 70 games played, he performed strong shut-down defense, especially on the top penalty-kill unit. The Boston Bruins were not about to have their first overall pick start with their minor-pro affiliate and immediately made Kluzak a regular in the lineup for the 1982-1983 season. His promising career ended after just 4+ seasons due to severe knee problems /x2tffzTtoe- Boston Sports Info June 9, 2020 Gord Kluzak is selected with the 1st pick in the 1st Rd by the Boston Bruins
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