Pittsburgh Penguins legend Jaromir Jagr revealed some interesting information about Edmonton Oilers icon Paul Coffey on Friday during the event “An Evening With Jaromir Jagr” as part of Pittsburgh’s Celebrate 68 weekend.
Jagr is no name that is unfamiliar in the sport of hockey. From his luscious mullet to his ability to control the game with the puck in his possession, Jagr left an undeniable mark on the sport throughout his 24 years in the NHL.
However, time has passed, and Jagr, now 52, still remains as physically fit as ever. To emphasize, he’s still playing professional hockey for Rytiri Klando in Czechia Extraliga, where he serves as the team’s owner and president.
During the event on Friday, Jagr revealed that he credits Coffey for pushing his fitness to the next level when the two were teammates for the first two years of Jagr’s career in Pittsburgh (1990-91 and 1991-92).
Before Jagr joined the NHL, he was already working out — as to be expected of any professional athlete — revealing in previous interviews that at a young age, he would do 1,000 squats a day and 300 pushups. Still, he was not ready for what Coffey had in store, “I thought I was working hard, but he showed me another level,” he said.
Coffey’s “training” was simple yet challenging for 18-year-old Jagr.
“He took me to the gym, and he said listen, from now on, you’re gonna do the bike, you’re going to do sprints,” Jagr said. “One minute on, one minute off. It was the hardest thing I ever did in my life.”
Despite finding the nearest garbage can a handful of times, Coffey pushed him to the next level, then the next, and so on.
“I couldn’t handle it,” Jagr said. “But he said you got to do it, so I did it.”
The influence of the seasoned NHL veteran on the rookie paid off, and Jagr continued to focus on his physical fitness throughout his career. That included late-night workouts, double workouts after games, and skating with a 30-pound weighted vest.
“While the rest of the NHL is sleeping, he is working,” said his former New York Rangers teammate Petr Prucha.
Jagr’s legacy was born in Pittsburgh after being drafted fifth overall by the Penguins in the 1990 NHL Draft. He contributed to two consecutive back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships in 1991 and 1992 for the Penguins, won more awards than you could count on one hand, and remains fifth in franchise history for games played and fourth in goals, points, and assists. Over 806 games with the Penguins, Jagr recorded 439 goals and 1079 points.
The former Penguins had his No. 68 sweater raised into the rafters of PPG Paints Arena ahead of the puck drop between the Penguins and the Los Angeles Kings.
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