Two-time Stanley Cup champion Jaromir Jagr, at age 52, has said the 2024-2025 season will be the final one of his career.
Jagr, who began playing professionally in 1988 in the former Czechoslovakia, will be playing his 36th season with the same club where he began his career with Ryūtiri Kladno in the Czech Extraliga.
After playing in the NHL from 1990 to 2018, Jagr returned to the Czech Republic to play another five years with Kladno, a team he was also majority owner of, taking over from his father. Same name 2011.
Then, late in 2022, Jagr appeared to be retired, but then the team was hit with illness and down to 12 players. Jagr decided to step out of the owner's box to lace up his shoes to avoid the team having to forfeit the game, and he played in 26 games that season. He finished the 2022-2023 season with 14 points at age 50.
In addition to his legendary status, coming out of retirement actually delayed Jagr's eligibility for the Hockey Hall of Fame. Despite being a member of the Czech Ice Hockey Hall of Fame since 2008 and the IIHF Hall of Fame since 2024, Jagr postponed his eligibility for the more prestigious honor in order to save his team.
The 52-year-old Jaeger Announced This will be his final season, making him the oldest professional ice hockey player in history, surpassing Gordie Howe, who was 52 years and 11 days old when he played his final NHL game in 1980.
Jagr's legend only seems to grow as he gets older.
In 2015, Jagr was reportedly the victim of blackmail after he was photographed sleeping in bed next to a young Czech model. Yahoo Sports Social media users reportedly found the photo and tried to extort 50,000 kroner (US$2,000) from the hockey player, to which Jagr allegedly replied that he didn't care and that they could do whatever they wanted with the photo.
“I think I'll lie about my age and see what my condition is.”
And in March 2024, Jagr was scheduled to make an appearance in Pittsburgh, where his uniform was to be retired, before 18,000 bobbleheads bearing Jagr's likeness were stolen from a loading dock in California.
The Pittsburgh Penguins acknowledged at the time that the bobbleheads had indeed been stolen and were not a promotional stunt.
However, Yagher quickly turned the heist into a fun marketing campaign, Rescue his doll.
Jagr is the second-most scored player in NHL history with 1,921 points and the fourth-most scored goals with 766. He played in North America for 24 years with nine different teams.
In 2015-16, Jagr scored an astounding 27 goals and added 39 assists for the Florida Panthers at age 44.
The following year, at age 45, he scored another 16 goals.
The owner has always poked fun at himself while continuing to play at a high level.
“I think I'll lie about my age and find out what my status is,” he wrote. Instagram.
The Jagrs' final season begins on Sept. 18.
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