The Day That Changed the Penguins Forever: July 11, 2001

The Pittsburgh Penguins traded Jaromir Jagr on July 11, 2001. What happened to the franchise after that day?

In 1984, Mario Lemieux joined the Pittsburgh Penguins. "Le Magnifique" was a two-time Stanley Cup champion within a decade, with other NHL hardware and records on his mantle.

However, there's no way to talk about his successes in the early 1990s without acknowledging the young Jaromir Jagr, who would assume Lemieux's mantle when he battled injuries and cancer and ultimately chose early retirement in 1997.

Jagr is one of the most decorated players in NHL history, with 1,921 points, second only to Wayne Gretzky. 

Even though the Penguins recently retired his iconic No. 68 jersey earlier in 2024, Jagr has yet to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame because he's still playing professionally in Czechia at 52.

It's been almost 25 years since Jagr left Pittsburgh, but he is still considered one of the top four players to wear black and gold. 

Despite his legendary status in the Steel City, like most things in life, all good things must end. Unfortunately, that happened on July 11, 2001, when Jagr was dealt to the Washington Capitals.

Little did anyone know that the franchise would be forever altered that day. 

Even though Lemieux came out of retirement in 2000, he could not help the Penguins win another Stanley Cup, watching as his best teammates left town.

Considering the franchise's financial distress, Lemieux bought the club out of bankruptcy to recoup some of his deferred payments and keep the team in the city for the second time. 

However, the Civic Arena/Mellon Arena desperately needed to be replaced. Despite hosting the only active Hockey Hall of Famer on the ice, the team was nowhere near competitive enough to win the Stanley Cup, which didn't put as many fans in seats.

After a run to the Eastern Conference in 2001, ownership, guided by Lemieux, dealt Jagr away, ending the franchise's first era of success. 

During his 11 seasons, the Penguins won two titles, appeared in four Eastern Conference Finals, and qualified annually for the postseason.

As soon as Jagr skated away, Pittsburgh just dropped out of contention. They finished 5th in the Atlantic Division four consecutive times and had no winning season from 2001 to 2006.

They cycled through four head coaches and were so bad after the 2003-04 season that they won the NHL Draft Lottery, which gifted them the chance to select Sidney Crosby at the 2005 Entry Draft. 

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Without Jagr by his side, Lemieux had bookended his magnificent career with some bad teams who underperformed and never made the playoffs.

Unsurprisingly, once No. 68 left, the Penguins picked twice at first overall, selecting Marc-Andre Fleury in 2003 and Crosby in 2005. 

Because of his absence, the franchise hit rock bottom and responded with arguably the most remarkable stretch of hockey in its history, winning three Stanley Cup titles over a 16-year playoff run.

Even though many fans will look back at the Jagr trade and try to dig deep into the details to draw their conclusions, no one ever talks about how his departure and the subsequent fallout over the following seasons led to Hall of Famers like Fleury, Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin to make their way into Pittsburgh.

It wasn't pretty for a while, but out of all the doom and gloom of that Monday afternoon in 2001, the clouds eventually faded, and the sun shined on the organization that got a brand new arena and a few banners to hang in the rafters, including Jagr's retired jersey.