Czech Extraliga club Rytíři Kladno was hopeful that Jaromír Jágr would be able to make his season debut on Tuesday night at home to Energie Karlovy Vary. He went so far as to take the pre-game warmup with the team. Ultimately, however, the 53-year-old legend was not deemed physically fit to play.

“The team came to the conclusion that it was not possible,” Kladno head coach David Čermák said after the game, according to Hokej.cz. Čermák added that the coaching staff was aware it would be a game-time decision and had enough forwards take the warmup to cover the situation.

Instead of playing, Jágr took off his equipment and watched the game from a skybox. Kladno lost the game 3-1 – the team has won only one of its first 10 games and sits last in the 14-team Extraliga.

Questioned about why Jágr didn’t play, Čermák explained, “He pulled a muscle. He re-aggravated the injury he was struggling with.”

Čermák did not elaborate further on the nature of Jágr’s injury. He suffered a hamstring injury in the summer of 2024 that interrupted his training camp for the 2024-25 season – it’s not clear whether he re-injured his hamstring or this is a different muscle altogether.

Did Jaromír Jágr Play His Last Career Game On Sunday? Maybe Not, Some Say In the team’s second-to-last game of the Czech Extraliga regular season, and last game at home before a sell-out crowd of 5,200, Rytíři Kladno lost 5-0 to visiting HC Vítkovice Ridera on Sunday, which mathematically eliminated Kladno from playoff contention.

Last season, Jágr played in 39 of Kladno’s 52 regular-season games, scoring five goals and adding 11 assists for 16 points with 16 penalty minutes.

It was widely believed at the time that the 2024-25 season, Jágr’s 37th in professional hockey, would be his last. However, as the season neared its end, many were beginning to doubt that. When Jágr skated with the Kladno team on the opening day of training camp in late July, it appeared that season number 38 was a probability.

The fact that the team and Jágr waited until close to game time to make a decision on whether he would play suggests this current muslce pull is more of a day-to-day situation rather than a long-term one, so his season debut might not be far off.

Jaromír Jágr On The Ice As Kladno’s Training Camp Opens – Pro Season No. 38 Coming Up? Late July means the start of training camp for hockey teams across Europe. On Monday, Czech Extraliga club Rytíři Kladno hit the ice for the first time and a familiar face was involved.

Kladno’s upcoming schedule includes a road game against Kometa Brno on Friday and a home game against Sparta Prague on Sunday, followed by two more road games next weekend.

It should be noted that it has still not been confirmed that Jágr has signed a contract to play this season, in which case he is technically still a free-agent. Kladno’s website does not list Jágr on the team’s roster. Considering he’s a local icon and still owns 20 percent of the Kladno club, signing a contract should be a mere formality but, until he actually does so, he cannot play.

Until Jágr signs, the only players Kladno has under contract with any NHL experience are Swedish goaltender Oscar Dansk, who played six games with the Vegas Golden Knights and whose signing was just announced on Wednesday, and British-born, Canadian-raised center Tristen Robins, who played three games with the San Jose Sharks in the 2022-23 season. The team also has American-born-and-raised right winger Kelly Klíma, whose father Petr was briefly Jágr’s teammate with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1996-97 season.

Tomas Plekanec Joins Jaromir Jagr In Front Office Of Hometown Kladno Team The day after <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/did-jaromr-jgr-play-his-last-career-game-on-sunday-maybe-not-some-say">the team played its final game home game of the season on Sunday</a>, Czech Extraliga club Rytíři Kladno announced that one of its own would be joining its front office. <a href="https://rytirikladno.cz/clanek.asp?id=Prvni-zmena-v-nove-ere-klubu-Do-vedeni-Rytiru-miri-Tomas-Plekanec-9419">Tomáš Plekanec was introduced as the team’s new sports director</a> – a role that is roughly similar to a director of hockey operations on an NHL team.