Panthers fans will always hold a special place in their hearts for Jagr
One of the best hockey players of the last half century, and one with a strong connection to the Florida Panthers, isn’t ready to hang up his skates just yet.
Jaromir Jagr, still going strong at 51 years old, announced on Instagram and Facebook that he would be continuing his amazing career for at least one more season with Rytiri Kladno of the Czech Extraliga.
Jagr returned to Kladno, his hometown team that he’s also a co-owner of, in 2018.
“Another hockey season has begun,” Jagr wrote, via translation.” I just read that I played Extraliga for Kladno for the first time 35 years ago. It’s been a minute. But the nervousness, the anticipation before the start... This is still the same.”
Kladno plays their Extraliga home opener on Sunday against Dynamo Pardubice and it looks like the legend will be in the lineup.
It’s pretty amazing what Jagr has done, and is still doing, during his professional hockey career.
This will be Jagr’s 36th season in pro hockey, a career that started all the way back in 1988 with Kladno.
He played 24 of those seasons in the NHL, including parts of three seasons with the Florida Panthers.
Jagr was a beloved figure during his time with the Panthers, taking young stars Sasha Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau under his wing while helping the team to a magical season and rare playoff appearance.
That 2015-16 season was special for many reasons, from the team’s franchise record 12-game winning streak to Jagr scoring more goals (27) than he had in nearly a decade (30 with the Rangers in 2006-07), or the fact that the Cats were being backstopped by franchise goalie Roberto Luongo, who had returned from his sabbatical in Vancouver a couple years prior.
It’s amazing that Jagr remains with the second-most points (1,921) and fourth-most goals (766) in NHL history despite seemingly playing 1/3 of his pro career outside of the league.
Now we’ll be able to enjoy the former Panthers fan favorite doing what he loves for at least one more year.
