It looks like Jaromir Jagr's amazing NHL career has quietly
come to a dead end as the 46-year-old forward currently recovers from a serious
knee injury. Jagr became an unrestricted free agent on July 1st
after spending the 2017/18 campaign with the Calgary Flames. He managed just
one goal and six assists in 22 outings with his last game coming on New Year's
Eve. Just four weeks later he was placed on the club's injured reserved list
and placed on waivers. There were no takers and Jagr ended up back at home in
the Czech Republic with Ryitiri Kladno, a franchise which he just happens to be
the majority owner of.
Jagr told the media back in April that he hoped to play in
the NHL for a 25th season in 2018/19, but it now appears those hopes
are a longshot. He recently stated that his main concern right now is getting
100 per cent healthy and he aims at doing that by working out and playing with
Kladno. If Jagr's NHL career is over, the league will be losing it's second-highest
scorer in history as he currently has 766 goals and 1,155 assists for 1,921
points in 1,733 regular season games. The only players to score more goals were
Wayne Gretzky with 894 and Gordie Howe at 801 while Gretzky's 2,857 points are
the most ever accumulated.
In addition, Jagr's number of games played are third
all-time behind Mark Messier's 1,756 and Howe's record of 1,767. Jagr holds the
mark for the most game-winning goals in history though with 135 and he hoisted the Stanley Cup twice with the
Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1990/91 and 1991/92 seasons. Individually, he took
home the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player in 1999, led the
league in scoring five times and won the Masterton Trophy in 2016 for his
perseverance and dedication to hockey.
Jagr, who broke into the NHL in 1990/91, said he's obviously not the same
player he was even 10 years ago, but still feels he can play at a high level
this season. His recent practice was the first time he's been on the ice in the
past six months and he admitted he still has a long way to go. Jagr said his
knee didn't bother him, but his muscles and thighs felt weak. He attributes
this to his advanced age, but believes he'll eventually get stronger and in top
shape with each passing day. Time may not be on the future Hall of Famer's side
though as Kladno's campaign faces off on September 8th and the
10-game preseason beginning on July 31st
Jagr signed a one-year deal for a million dollars with
Calgary last season and it's still possible he gets a similar type of offer
from an NHL club for 2018/19. However, it likely wouldn't come until September
or October if and when he gets himself into playing shape with kladno. Jagr
admits he didn't play well with the Flames last year, but still believes he can
play until he's 50 years old and would definitely prefer to finish his career
somewhere in the NHL.
Labels: Ian Palmer