Jaromir Jagr started his 36th professional season. The hanging of his jersey in Pittsburgh is coming soon

It sounds unbelievable, but even at 51, Jaromir Jagr continues his career. Now he’s in the 28th round of the Tipsport Extraliga against a strong opponent. Although Kladno fell, he did not lose the game against Pardubice and even scored a point for a pass.

Jagr entered the game after eight months, or 243 days. Kladno, of which he is also the owner, visited the very strong Pardubice, but could not avert a 3:4 defeat. He spent an impressive 13 minutes and 52 seconds on the ice at his age.

Jagr even made his mark in the statistics when he scored an assist on Jakub Strnad’s goal at 3:0 for Pardubice. Kladno came alive after that and even tied the game. However, Matej Paulovic decided the Dynamo’s victory on a shorthanded goal at 37:38.

Although Kladno lost narrowly, coach Otakar Vejvoda praised Jagr’s contribution throughout the team. He played the game in the second line together with Strnad and Jaromir Pytlik. Kladno’s playing legend notched his 99th assist in the league.

The Czech legend started his professional hockey career in Kladno, where he was drafted in 1990 to the famous Pittsburgh Penguins, where he met other greats like Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis and Paul Coffey.

Jagr as an NHL legend

He left an indelible mark on the famous NHL for 24 seasons and became one of the greatest legends in the history of the overseas competition, having played for a total of 9 teams between 1990 and 2018. He retired from the league in the 2017-18 season and has been playing for his parent club ever since.

He literally dominated the NHL in its glory days. He won a lot of individual awards and was also the highest paid hockey player on the planet. His best years were spent with the Penguins, where he won two Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992.

And, of course, he also had national team success during the golden era of Czech hockey. Winning the Hockey Tournament of the Century in Nagano is certainly the most valuable, but he also has two World Championship titles in his collection. Together with Jiří Šlégr, he is also a member of the Triple Gold Club, which brings together players who have won gold medals at the World Championships, the Olympic Games and added a Stanley Cup victory.

Jagr is the second most productive player in NHL history, after Wayne Gretzky, with 1,921 points on 766 goals and 1,155 assists in 1,733 games played. Pittsburgh will recognize his contributions to the team on February 18, 2024, when they will ceremonially display his jersey number 68 under the ceiling of the arena, only the third player in franchise history to do so.

Source: NHL, Extraliga