Jaromir Jagr’s return to Pittsburgh ends with his No. 68 being retired—and catharsis.
PITTSBURGH—There were jokes. And laughter. And catharsis.
Simply no tears. At least not from Jaromir Jagr. Perhaps they were unnecessary when the Pittsburgh Penguins retired his iconic No. 68 on Sunday.
The look on Jagr’s face, the subtle catch in his voice, and the boyish smile that persists even at 52, said it all.
No matter where the NHL’s second all-time leading scorer has gone in a professional odyssey spanning 30 years and three continents, Jagr has always known where his hockey home is: the place where he arrived in 1990 as a mysterious teenager from eastern Europe, armed with a mullet that became his trademark and the kind of prodigious talent that eventually propelled him to the ranks of the game’s all-time greatest.
“If you ask anyone in the world, Czech or European, and you say ‘Jaromir Jagr,’ they’ll say Pittsburgh Penguins,” Jagr said before a 40-minute on-ice ceremony that ended with his jersey being raised to the rafters at PPG Paints Arena alongside mentor and Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux’s No.66 and Michel Briere’s No.
Surrounded by his mother and former Penguins executives and players, including Lemieux, Jagr never broke down as he feared he would. Instead, the franchise’s fourth all-time leading scorer used his 10-minute speech to cap off a weekend spent reconnecting with the city to which he is forever linked.
“The 11 years I spent here were amazing,” Jagr said. “These are probably the best years of my life. “Thank you for that.”
Jagr’s journey from Kladno, Czech Republic — where he still plays for the team he owns despite being in his mid-50s — to a seemingly distant celebration took years.
Jagr, who is not known for his sentimentality, made an effort to soak it all up. He shared stories with former teammates at an event on Friday. He practiced with the current Penguins on Saturday, saying, “I was pretty good, let me tell you,” before spending the night with Lemieux, Jagr’s idol-turned-running mate who led the club to two Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992.
Even on a day designated as “Jaromir Jagr Day” in Pittsburgh, there were still hints of the iconoclast whose passion for the game he helped redefine trumped all else. This includes nostalgia.
Jagr left the Penguins in 2001, when the financially stressed team traded him to rival Washington. He had the opportunity to return in the summer of 2011, but opted to sign with rival Philadelphia, a decision that had nothing to do with his dislike for the Penguins and everything to do with his belief that he could still play at a high level against the best, an opportunity unlikely to occur in Pittsburgh, which was loaded up the middle at the time with stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in their 20s.
Unwilling to accept a role on the third or fourth line, Jagr joined the Flyers instead, an act of betrayal to a fan base that once idolized him and led to him being booed almost
Yes, it was weird. Uncomfortable (if understandable) at times for a player whose name appears twice on the Stanley Cup as “Pittsburgh Penguins”.
“I wouldn’t say I was selfish, but I was thinking of myself,” Jagr admitted. “I’m not sure. It could have been a mistake. Maybe if I come here, the celebration will be bigger.”
Whatever wounds there were, they’ve healed. The proof came not only from a rolling standing ovation when Jagr — dressed in a dark suit and brown shoes — was introduced, but also from the way he was embraced at every turn by a franchise that was on the verge of failure when he left but has since become synonymous with excellence.
“When you look at the history of hockey, he’s someone you’re always going to think about,” Crosby, who has won three Stanley Cups, said. “The fact that he played here and had the impact that he did, and what he was able to accomplish throughout his career, is incredible. And I believe we are all incredibly fortunate to be a part of this.”
So fortunate that Crosby and the rest of the current Penguins skated out onto the ice for their pregame warm-up before Sunday night’s game wearing No. 68 jerseys and black mullets in honor of Jagr.
However, Jagr was the only skater on the ice without a mullet. For a few minutes, it was difficult to tell whether it was 2024 or 1994 due to the salt-and-pepper stubble on his cheeks. When he emerged from the tunnel, the sellout crowd erupted in cheers, with many wearing various iterations of Jagr jerseys (Penguin or otherwise) and a few even donning white Jofa-brand hockey helmets.
It grew even louder minutes later when Jagr took one solo lap before disappearing into the darkness, with a return to Kladno in the works.
There is a game to play later this week. At 52, he seeks greatness in whatever form it may take.
“Once you’re satisfied, I believe it’s over,” he stated. “Perhaps I am
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