The Penguins are celebrating the incredible career of Jaromir Jagr. This cover story from 1998 profiled the then-26-year-old Czech native in his second season as Pens captain.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are celebrating the career of superstar forward Jaromir Jagr this weekend. And in this cover story from The Hockey News’ Nov. 13, 1998 edition (Vol. 52, Issue 10), Jagr was put under the spotlight as the Pens’ captain.

(And remember, to secure access to The Hockey News’ exclusive Archive, subscribe to the magazine at THN.com/Free.)

Penned by then-senior-writer Mike Brophy, the story focused on Jagr’s development as a 26-year-old star and leader in the Penguins’ dressing room. The Czech native was in his second season as captain at the time the story was published, and while it took Jagr some time to adjust to wearing the ‘C’, his teammates and fellow Pens employees recognized what he was trying to do, in the dressing room and on the ice.

“He’s definitely taken charge,” Penguins linemate Stu Barnes told the Globe and “Mail. “The talk all summer was the loss of Ron Francis and what we would do. (Jagr) has taken that upon himself. He’s become more of a leader. He’s our captain and I think that’s going to make him a better player.”

“There were so many other leaders on the team before, nobody knew how he’d react this year,” added Tom McMillan, the Pens’ vice-president of communications. “No question about it, he’s the man.”

Jagr’s maturity helped him assimilate as a leader for Pittsburgh. He was no longer the kid with all the tricks to make him an icon. Instead, it was all about being a great influence, and he did that very well.

“It was more fun before, definitely,” Jagr said of his early-career experiences. “We never wondered if we would win the game; we just wondered how many goals we would score…I have to change my game now, I know that. Sometimes when I didn’t play well and I wasn’t happy with myself, I wouldn’t quit, but I would scream and slash my stick. I can’t do that anymore. The other players will be watching me closely and I don’t want to be a bad example.”

CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN

Vol. 52, No. 10, Nov. 13, 1998

By Mike Brophy

Ron Francis remembers the incident well. The Pittsburgh Penguins were on the road, playing the New York Islanders and Francis, the team leader and captain, was sitting out with a sore back.

“At one point late in the game we were on the power play and things weren’t going well,” Francis recalled. “Jags came off the ice, threw his gloves down, took off his helmet and leaned back. It was obvious he was done.

“When the game ended I went down to ice level and told him, ’Meet me back at the hotel after you have your shower, there are a couple of things I want to go over with you.’ About a half hour later we met at the hotel and I launched into him for about 35 or 40 minutes on why he can’t do what he did that night.

“I was really angry and I gave it to him. I told him he was a star player and a leader on the hockey team and guys look to him as an example. Here he was, this 22- or 23-year-old kid getting a blast from a veteran. I’m thinking he could just blow me off. When I finished, he just looked at me and said, ’Thank you. I needed that. Nobody ever gives me heck, the coaches never give me heck. Thank you.’ To this day his response still blows me away.”

So don’t count Francis among those surprised that Jagr has taken on the leadership role of the Penguins this season. He saw it coming years ago. Jagr also remembers the incident as if it happened yesterday.

“It was the year when Mario didn’t play (1994-95) and Ronnie had been out for a few games,” Jagr said. “I felt like I was alone in the game. It was something new for me and in the game I grew very frustrated. Ronnie talked to me, like he always helped me that way.”

Four years later, Francis is gone, but the message isn’t forgotten. It has finally sunk in.

Jagr, now 26 and in his ninth NHL season, has undergone a personality change so radical it has people throughout the organization talking about the new mature superstar in terms nobody expected. In his first eight NHL seasons, Jagr earned two Stanley Cups, two scoring championships and more points than all but two players, but what he never earned was respect for his leadership skills.

Until now.

“He’s definitely taken charge,” linemate Stu Barnes told the Globe and “Mail. “The talk all summer was the loss of Ron Francis and what we would do. (Jagr) has taken that upon himself. He’s become more of a leader. He’s our captain and I think that’s going to make him a better player.”

His development has been noticed outside the dressing room, too.

“There were so many other leaders on the team before, nobody knew how he’d react this year,” said Tom McMillan, the Penguins’ vice-president of communications. “No question about it, he’s the man.”

Added Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, who has covered the Penguins for 16 years, “He has definitely made himself more accessible this season than in the past which is what you’d expect from the leader of a hockey team. I think it’s part of the maturation process.”

Jagr is truly a superstar. So spectacular and appreciated are his skills, a panel of experts assembled by The Hockey News voted him the NHL’s 37th best player of all-time.

But hockey is a team game. Even Lemieux needed help. The Penguins didn’t make the playoffs in his first four years, not until they surrounded him with a strong supporting cast.

Some feared the free-spirited Jagr and coach Kevin Constantine, a strict disciplinarian, would wage the war that would drive one of them out of Pittsburgh. Surprise, surprise. A new Jaromir Jagr has emerged.

Outwardly all is the same. His long, curly locks still hang about his shoulders; he still offers the trademark salute after scoring. As always, he often remains on the ice for 45 minutes after practice, honing his skills or simply goofing around. But inside, where it really counts, Jagr is reborn.

“Something happened this summer at home (in the Czech Republic), something that made me want to change,” Jagr said. “But I don’t want to talk about it. It’s my privacy.”

Asked if he would ever reveal it, Jagr becomes indignant and spits: “No, never. I just know if you want to be the leader of the hockey club, it can’t be any other way. Everybody can change if you want to. It won’t happen overnight, I know that. There will be times when I feel like I might lose it. When I feel like that it might take 10 seconds, but I can calm down. Before it took much longer.”

Whatever happened, it triggered a response in a gifted individual who seems more determined than ever to be a positive influence on others.

Jagr used to retreat from any hint of leadership responsibility. When Lemieux or Francis were out of the lineup, he’d gladly wear the ‘C,’ but there was never any notion he had the right stuff to be a leader.

All he had to worry about was scoring and setting up goals. And the fifth overall pick in the 1990 entry draft did so with authority, firing 27 goals and 57 points as a rookie and upping his totals to 32 and 69 the following year. In 1995-96, he established career highs with 62 goals, 87 assists and 149 points. And in the past four seasons, he has put up more points - 416 - than any other player.

Jagr entered the league on a high, winning back-to back Cups in his first two years. Life was wonderful.

Life is not so wonderful these days. The Penguins, business-wise at least, are a mess. Lemieux is engaged in a battle with the troubled organization to recover $28 million in deferred salary. Francis departed for greener pastures in Carolina during the summer. With Francis, the Penguins were first-round casualties in the playoffs last season, losing to the Montreal Canadiens in six games, so there is little reason to believe they’ll fare better this season.

When the Penguins gathered at training camp, there was no question in Constantine’s mind who would replace Francis as captain. It would be Jagr. Constantine did the diplomatic thing by holding a team vote for captain, knowing full well if the results were not as he had hoped for, “There’s always vote fraud.”

“Jaromir’s a smart guy,” Constantine said. “He saw a changing team that needed him to change and be a leader and that’s what he did.”

And, alas, Constantine is pleased to report there has been no clash of personalities.

“I probably have more disagreements in a week with my wife than I do with Jaromir,” Constantine said, “and I consider my wife and I to have a very healthy marriage. He comes to me with his ideas and we listen to each other. To a degree, you want your best players to be a little confrontational, to challenge you. The great players, and he’s one of them, are always willing to go over to the chalkboard and start throwing the odd X and O here and there. He brings good ideas to the table.”

Players, management and media alike have noticed a huge adjustment in Jagr’s attitude. He has matured. He will stand up and be heard in the dressing room (“We respond… when we understand what he’s saying,” joked defenseman Darius Kasparaitis). He is also more prone to stick with an interview even though he remains self-conscious and frustrated with his command of English.

“He doesn’t get as down or as up as he used to,” said defenseman Neil Wilkinson. “His emotions are a lot better. He’s got a bigger responsibility now and he’s handling it.”

On the ice, Jagr continues to dominate. After seven games on a line mainly with Martin Straka at center and German Titov on left wing, he was leading the league in scoring with two goals and 14 points. On his own more than ever before, Jagr continues to employ his size and skill to create extra room.

“The thing that makes him different from most players is that he wants defenders to come toward him, which really doesn't make a lot of sense, said Philadelphia Flyers’ goalie John Vanbiesbrouck. “It’s like he wants to carry them with him. I also don’t think he goes to any one place on the ice the same way twice. You never know exactly what he’s going to do.”

Jagr knows his points - and his attitude - count now more than ever. He has played well from the get-go and is holding the team together.

“It was more fun before, definitely,” he admitted. “We never wondered if we would win the game; we just wondered how many goals we would score…I have to change my game now, I know that. Sometimes when I didn’t play well and I wasn’t happy with myself, I wouldn’t quit, but I would scream and slash my stick. I can’t do that anymore. The other players will be watching me closely and I don’t want to be a bad example.”

As positive as Jagr appears, there are certain realities facing him and the Penguins. For starters, he’ll earn $4.9 this season and that nearly doubles to $8.9 next season. Can the Penguins afford him? Will they trade him? Can the franchise exist without him? Those questions will be answered soon, although GM Craig Patrick said there is no sense of panic where Jagr is concerned.

“It’s all planned for,” Patrick said. “We feel he’ll be able to finish his career in Pittsburgh.”

Jagr takes it all in stride.

“I don’t really worry about it,” he said. “Why would I? There’s nothing I can do about it. If I get traded, I’ll pack my bags and play for the other team. But I don’t want to get traded. I like it here.”

Yes, Jagr has come at least to accept, if not enjoy, the responsibility that comes with being the mightiest Penguin. The maturity that Ron Francis drew out of Jaromir Jagr for a brief moment four years ago is finally out in the open. With uncertainty all around him in Pittsburgh, he’s a welcome sight for sore and disbelieving eyes.

The Hockey News Archive is an exclusive collection of more than 2,640 issues and more than 156,000 articles exclusively produced for subscribers, chronicling the complete history of The Hockey News from 1947 until this day. Visit the archives at THN.com/archive and subscribe today at subscribe.thehockeynews.com