On Feb. 18 at PPG Paints Arena, a hockey legend will take his rightful place alongside the other legends of the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ franchise. Forward Jaromír Jágr, currently player-owner of the Kladno Knights of the Czech Extraliga and one of the best players in the history of the NHL, will have his number raised to the rafters alongside his former teammate Mario Lemieux, in recognition of one of the greatest and most captivating hockey careers of all time.
The honor comes at a time of tension between Jágr’s camp and the Hockey Hall of Fame, but it will forever represent the bond between the city of Pittsburgh and Jágr.
Jágr Best Remembered for Dominating the 1990s
Drafted fifth overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, Jágr flew to Vancouver and attended in-person, the first Czechoslovak player to do so without having to defect. He became a fixture of the team at just 20 years old, and remains one of the youngest players in league history to score in the Stanley Cup Final. He established himself as one of the league’s best players in the mid-1990s, winning the Art Ross Trophy as top scorer in 1994-95 and setting the record for most points by a European-born player the next season. He became the Penguins’ captain in 1998-99 after Ron Francis was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes and won four straight scoring titles from 1997-98 to 2000-01.
Jágr continued his dominance, leading the Czech Republic to a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, and he became the second Penguin to record 1,000 points with the club, a feat he accomplished in 806 career games.
Jágr Honored to Return to Steel City
In a piece for The Athletic, Josh Yohe described very eloquently what Jágr meant to the Penguins and the city of Pittsburgh. He painted a picture of the loving yet complicated relationship between the former first-rounder and the Steel City. After Jágr’s first two seasons, he assumed every year would end with a championship parade and the core that made the Penguins back-to-back champions would remain together forever. Financial trouble soon set in and Jágr’s Cup-winning teammates departed one by one. Lemieux retired and Jágr became the team captain and the franchise cornerstone.
Jágr himself was dealt to the Washington Capitals in 2001 and his Penguins’ career was over. Despite the fact that he believed he’d stay a Penguin forever, he still loves the city and the people.
“You know, I really do love it here. Best time of my life. I never wanted to leave.”
Jaromír Jágr reflects on his time in Pittsburgh (From “Yohe: Jaromir Jagr, the Penguins and the city of Pittsburgh — a love story 32 years in the making” Josh Yohe. The Athletic. 10/11/2023)
For everything that he was for the city of Pittsburgh and the Penguins, his departure was a necessary evil to alleviate the financial pressure the organization was under at the time. As Yohe says, Jágr leaving the Penguins was the only true tragedy.
Jágr is one of the best players in the history of the NHL. He remains second on the all-time scoring list, only behind Wayne Gretzky. He remains the only active player from his draft class and was named one of the NHL’s 100 Best Players for the centennial season in 2017-18. He remains the oldest active professional player, as he still suits up for home games with his hometown Kladno Knights. He scored his 1,100th professional goal in Feb. 2023 and had himself a four-goal night on April 19, 2022.
After everything he’s accomplished, the Penguins’ plan to retire his number seems like the culmination of Jágr’s entire career and the right thing to do to honor his legacy. Raising his No. 68 to the rafters alongside Lemieux’s No. 66 and Michel Brière’s No. 21 is only right for one of the best players in league history.
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