Future Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr has played professional hockey for 36 years, with many of his old teammates skating in the Stanley Cup Final. As the Vegas Golden Knights battle the Carolina Hurricanes, his teammate streak has reached 46 seasons.
There are hockey legends in professional hockey, and then there's Jaromir Jagr.
As the NHL's second all-time leading scorer with 1,921 points, his career totals could have been higher if he had not lived through several NHL lockouts and had not spent a few seasons in the KHL.
Despite not skating in the league since the 2017-18 season, Jagr, who continues to play professionally in his native Czechia at 54, remains connected to the Stanley Cup Final through one of hockey's most bizarre streaks.
A former teammate of Jagr's has appeared in every Stanley Cup Final since 1980.
For those unaware of this wild statistic, Jagr played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers, and Calgary Flames. After 36 seasons of professional hockey, Jagr laced his skates with hundreds of teammates.
A few years ago, fans discovered the streak and have tracked it ever since, checking in every June to see whether another former teammate will keep Jagr's streak alive.
This year, because Jagr skated 22 games with the Flames during the 2017-18 season, he teamed with Rasmus Andersson (Vegas Golden Knights) and Mark Jankowski (Carolina Hurricanes), including setting up the latter's first NHL goal. Today, those two are facing off against one another in the Final, pushing Jagr's impossible streak to 46 seasons.
Here's a look at some of the teammates who played in the Stanley Cup Final since 1980 and played with Jagr at some point in their careers.
| SCF | Teammate | Skated With Jagr |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Bryan Trottier (New York) | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990-94)** |
| 1981 | Bryan Trottier (New York) | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990-94)** |
| 1982 | Bryan Trottier (New York) | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990-94)** |
| 1983 | Bryan Trottier (New York) | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990-94)** |
| 1984 | Bryan Trottier (New York) | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990-94)** |
| 1985 | Mark Messier (Edmonton) | New York Rangers (2003-04) |
| 1986 | Joe Mullen (Calgary) | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990-95, 1995-96)** |
| 1987 | Mark Messier (Edmonton) | New York Rangers (2003-04) |
| 1988 | Mark Messier (Edmonton) | New York Rangers (2003-04) |
| 1989 | Jiri Hrdina (Calgary) | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990-92)** |
| 1990 | Mark Messier | New York Rangers (2003-04) |
| 1991 | Himself | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 1992 | Himself | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 1993 | J.J. Daigneault (Montreal) | Pittsburgh Penguins (1995-97) |
| 1994 | Mark Messier (New York) | New York Rangers (2003-04) |
| 1995 | Tom Chorske (New Jersey) | Pittsburgh Penguins (1999-00) |
| 1996 | Scott Young (Colorado) | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990-91)* |
| 1997 | Doug Brown (Detroit) | Pittsburgh Penguins (1993-94) |
| 1998 | Doug Brown (Detroit) | Pittsburgh Penguins (1993-94) |
| 1999 | Benoit Hogue (Dallas) | Washington Capitals (2001-02) |
| 2000 | Scott Gomez (New Jersey) | New Jersey Devils (2014-15) |
| 2001 | Chris Drury (Colorado) | New York Rangers (2007-08) |
| 2002 | Brendan Shanahan (Detroit) | New York Rangers (2006-08) |
| 2003 | Jay Pandolfo (New Jersey) | Boston Bruins (2012-13) |
| 2004 | Pavel Kubina (Tampa Bay) | Philadelphia Flyers (2012-13) |
| 2006 | Mark Recchi (Carolina) | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990-92)* |
| 2007 | Shawn Thornton (Anaheim) | Boston Bruins (2012-13) |
| 2008 | Andreas Lilja (Detroit) | Philadelphia Flyers (2011-12) |
| 2009 | Petr Sykora (Pittsburgh) | New York Rangers (2005-06) |
| 2010 | Kris Versteeg (Chicago) | Calgary Flames (2017-18) |
| 2011 | Mark Recchi (Boston) | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990-92)* |
| 2012 | Willie Mitchell (Los Angeles) | Florida Panthers (2014-16) |
| 2013 | Himself | Boston Bruins |
| 2014 | Willie Mitchell (Los Angeles) | Florida Panthers (2014-16) |
| 2015 | Kris Versteeg (Chicago) | Calgary Flames (2017-18) |
| 2016 | Matt Cullen (Pittsburgh) | New York Rangers (2006-07) |
| 2017 | Matt Cullen (Pittsburgh) | New York Rangers (2006-07) |
| 2018 | Alex Chiasson (Washington) | Dallas Stars (2012-13) |
| 2019 | Brayden Schenn (St. Louis) | Philadelphia Flyers (2011-12) |
| 2020 | Braydon Coburn (Tampa Bay) | Philadelphia Flyers (2011-12) |
| 2021 | Jonathon Merrill (Montreal) | New Jersey Devils (2013-15) |
| 2022 | Ondrej Palat (Tampa Bay) | Czechia (2014 Olympic Games) |
| 2023 | Aleksander Barkov (Florida) | Florida Panthers (2014-17) |
| 2024 | Aleksander Barkov (Florida) | Florida Panthers (2014-17) |
| 2025 | Brad Marchand (Florida) | Boston Bruins (2012-13) |
| 2026 | Rasmus Andersson (Vegas) | Calgary Flames (2017-18) |
* Indicates that Jagr won a Stanley Cup with this teammate.
The 2027 Stanley Cup Final is still a year away, but fans will be scanning rosters on Opening Night to see which of Jagr's former teammates are still active, hoping this strange streak will be extended for another year.