Jaromír Jágr scored the first goal of his 37th professional season on Friday during HC Rytíři Kladno’s 4-2 victory over HC Sparta Praha in the Czech Extraliga.
Jágr, 52, scored his first goal since last April’s relegation playoff series. His backhand attempt was denied, but the future Hall of Famer converted the rebound into Rytíři Kladno’s third goal of the game.
After recording an assist in the first game of the season, Jágr is currently averaging a point per game.
Jágr returns to Rytíři Kladno for the eighth season. The team he owns and operates, after being waived by the Calgary Flames during the 2017-18 NHL season after 22 games. The No. 5 overall pick in the 1990 NHL Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins has been plagued by injuries since returning home and only played in 18 games last season.
Last season’s downtime provided Jágr with a chance to get another moment with Penguins fans in Pittsburgh. During his recovery, he returned to the Steel City to participate in former teammate Mario Lemieux’s adult fantasy camp and had his number 68 retired by the franchise.
The end is near for Jágr
This week, Jágr confirmed that Rob Rossi of The Athletic who plans to retire after this season.
After the outpouring of love between Jágr and the city of Pittsburgh last season, team president of business operations Kevin Acklin, who was instrumental in arranging the retirement of Jágr’s No. 68, hopes to have Jágr part of the organization in some capacity in the future.
“It’s clear this is a guy who has a love for this franchise and for the city that needs to be cultivated,” Acklin told The Athletic. “I don’t know what that will look like. We’ve talked about the future.”
Timeline of Jágr’s Hall of Fame induction
Jágr is the NHL’s second-all-time leading scorer with 1,921 points and fourth-all-time leading scorer with 766. He boasts two Stanley Cup titles, Olympic and World Championship gold medals, five NHL scoring titles and a host of other individual honors and records. He’s a surefire candidate for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, but when will that happen?
When Jágr finally retires, he will be eligible to be included after three years, i.e. in 2028 if the 2024-25 season is indeed his last.
But given Jágr’s accomplishments, would the Hockey Hall of Fame waive the three-year waiting period to induct him early? Nine players have received that honor, including Wayne Gretzky (1999) and Jágr’s former Penguins teammate Mario Lemieux (1997).
It would make sense for Jágr to be the tenth to receive that honor.
