The guy is a machine, they write about Jagr overseas. Waiting to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but..

Overseas, they call it a stalemate. Jaromir Jagr is without a doubt one of the other hockey players who will be in the NHL Hall of Fame sooner or later. Still, the NHL remembers instances where a player has been inducted into the Hall of Fame well before the waiting period.

That is three years after the end of an active career. Athletes in the USA have to wait four years for induction into the Hall of Fame in basketball and even five years in American football and baseball. The reason is clear – just in case the retiring stars change their minds.

“There are circumstances where a person retires and possibly comes back at the end of that same year. Or even after two years,” said Toronto Hockey Hall of Fame chairman Lanny McDonald. “Three years just seems like the right number. There’s a pretty good chance he won’t return to an active career,” he added to The Athletic in the US.

Indeed, history remembers a number of hockey players who were inducted into the Hall of Fame but then didn’t return. For example, Mario Lemieux was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997. He then came back and played five more NHL seasons in a Penguins jersey. Gordie Howe even managed seven more professional seasons between the WHA and the NHL after being inducted among the most outstanding hockey players in history.

The last player to avoid the aforementioned three-year deadline was Wayne Gretzky. His nomination for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame came just one day after his career ended. He became the tenth player in total to be inducted into the Hall of Fame immediately. “Gretz was obviously unique,” McDonald explained of the move.

Just ten days later, the three-year term was formally voted on. That still makes Gretzky the last hockey player since 1999 who didn’t have to wait. Only humanitarian exceptions, such as terminal illness, are included in the series.

Jagr on the waiting list

For some players, we can already be sure that they will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Toronto, even though they have not yet finished their careers. Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Alexander Ovechkin will undoubtedly be among them. And certainly others, including Jaromir Jagr.

Jagr will soon celebrate his fifty-second birthday, it’s been six years since his last NHL game. Otherwise, he is still officially listed as an active player of the Kladno Knights. Even if Jagr never takes the ice again, the rules still require him to wait more than two years to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Moreover, the famous player with the number 68 will still take the ice during the current season, according to his last words. When and where is still up in the air. It would mean that he and the NHL will still be waiting more than three years for his big ceremony. According to The Athletic, there is currently no thought of granting an exemption: “It’s anunusual situation with no end in sight,” they write overseas.

“You can ask for another ten years and we’ll probably still be in the same boat,” McDonald said with a wry smile. “The guy’s a machine! To be able to still play at his age, play effectively and find a way to push through, it’s unbelievable,” added the Toronto Hall of Fame boss.

One honor, however, he’s already getting. The Penguins announced a few days ago that they will hang his No. 68 jersey from the ceiling of PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Feb. 18. However, we’ll have to wait a while for the next glorious event for the guy from the middle of Europe.

Source: NHL