Pittsburgh Penguins franchise icon Jaromír Jágr will have his no. 68 retired before the team’s February 18 home game against the Los Angeles Kings, per a team announcement.
It seems like a lifetime ago that Jágr’s time as a Penguin ended in a July 2001 trade to the Washington Capitals, but the Czech legend remains active in pro hockey over two decades later. After finally stepping away from the NHL at 45 years old in 2018, Jágr has logged another five seasons playing for his hometown club in Czechia, Rytíři Kladno, of which he’s also the majority owner. He is still on Kladno’s roster for 2023-24 but hasn’t yet played this season.
The 51-year-old right-winger needs minimal introduction – his 1,733 games are the fourth-most in NHL history, as are his 766 goals. His 1,155 assists are fifth all-time, while his 1,921 points are second – a mark likely to be untouched for quite some time.
Selected fifth overall by the Penguins in the 1990 NHL Draft, Jágr immediately came to North America and played 11 seasons with the team, amassing 439 goals and 1,079 points in just 806 games. Those seasons weren’t all spent as the undisputed second-best all-time player Mario Lemieux’s wingman, either. Jágr led the NHL in scoring for four consecutive seasons from 1998 to 2001, most of which came during Lemieux’s first retirement from the game. Jágr also served as the team’s captain during this time.
Jágr’s production as a teenager was key in guiding the 1991 and 1992 Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, especially in the latter run. His nine even-strength goals led all players in the postseason, recording 24 points in 21 games on the whole.
After departing the Penguins, Jágr would play 13 more generally productive NHL seasons with the Capitals, Rangers, Panthers, Devils, Flyers, Bruins, Stars, and Flames. He did take a small break from NHL play between 2009 and 2011, opting to spend three years in Europe with Russia’s Avangard Omsk.
In Penguins franchise history, Jágr’s point total is fourth behind Lemieux, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, although his 1.34 points per game rate is second to only Lemieux. His 806 games played are fifth all-time in Penguins history, too, with Kris Letang joining the aforementioned three players on the list ahead of him.
My favorite Jagr memory: Circa 1996 at the old Civic Arena, don’t remember who the Pens were playing, me and a buddy had tixx about 10 rows up behind goal. Pens enter the zone, Jagr completely whiffs a one-timer with a wide-open goal, whistle blows, building goes quiet waiting for action to restart, I stand up and yell “WHY DO WE PAY YOU?!?” Most of the guys on the ice look up wondering Who is that kid? The crowd around me laughs, my friend covers his eyes, mortally embarrassed.
@fightcitymayor – I like!
Should have waited until he retired at age 68
They HAVEN’T done that yet?
I mean, I can’t recall many instances of a team retiring a player’s number while they were still active
It’s never before happened. The closest anyone’s ever come is when the Bruins retired Dit Clapper’s number the night he retired.
Gotta imagine Crosby and Malkin get retired too!
One would think, but Pittsburgh is genuinely chary about retiring numbers. Other than whatever feelgood they scraped up for retiring Michel Briere’s number, they haven’t retired anyone from the franchise’s first two decades: not Rick Kehoe, not Jean Pronovost, not Syl Apps, not Ron Stackhouse. (One might also think that Tom Barrasso or Ron Francis could have come in for some rafter’s raising.)
Silly and meaningless practice.
Why is this silly and meaningless? To honour a man who has brought much joy and pride to a sport we all love (or at least claim to love…looking at you WP!)and “immortalize” him so we all can enjoy remembering the best players in our sport. Don’t see anything silly or meaningless in that.
And we can add another piece to the ever growing list of hockey stuff that completely escapes your mental grasp. Gonna need a new pen and more paper.
Yinz can’t spell Jaromir without the letters M-A-R-I-O J-R!!!
Definitely the best thing I’ve read online all day!