NHL legend Jaromir Jagr shockingly laced on the skates one more time on Sunday to aid his Czech Republic squad that faced suspension due to a lack of players.
The Kladno Knights, for which he is the majority owner, was down to 12 players due to an unnamed illness that swept through the club. The previous game had already been postponed, and Jagr was determined to avoid disciplinary actions.
Jaromir Jagr, the ageless wonder 🤯
The Kladno Knights of the Czech Extraliga had an illness run through the team. Jagr, the team’s owner, jumped into the lineup and picked up two assists … at 50 years old 👏
h/t: @chrismpeters pic.twitter.com/INtK2HAHhK
— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) December 11, 2022
Jagr told reporters that he did not plan his season debut in advance, but Sunday’s opponent refused to accept the postponement. He explained that he did not want his club to endure a suspension.
Jagr played in the NHL from 1990 to 2018, and in his ownership role had not suited up for any of the Knights’ first 26 games. The 50-year-old redeemed himself nicely, according to Yahoo Sports, by dishing out two assists in just 15 minutes on the ice.
His Knights lost 7-3.
Besides logging unexpected ice time, Jagr’s brief return to the professional ranks delayed his inevitable induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame. By suiting up again, he is now ineligible for the career honor until at least 2026.
Jagr is a 13-time NHL All-Star, and he’d previously played in 109 games for the Knights in the last five seasons. However, he had not taken the ice this year.
The future hall-of-Famer was chosen fifth overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1990 draft. This, incidentally, was during the second year of President George H.W. Bush’s administration.
Jagr currently ranks second all-time in points with 1,921 behind Wayne Gretzky, fourth with 766 goals, and fifth in assists with 1,155.
Besides his original Penguins, Jagr laced up his skates in his 24 NHL seasons for the Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, and Calgary Flames.
Jagr’s unexpected ice time may have delayed his induction into the Toronto’s Hockey Hall of Fame, but that’s simply postponing the inevitable. Jagr is a physical miracle who wowed fans in North America for decades and, for at least one game, did the same once again over the weekend.
