The Illustrious One
Jaromir Jagr has been around for quite a while now in the National Hockey League. He is currently 44 years of age and continues to prove many analysts wrong by constantly performing for his current team the Florida Panthers. Jagr was drafted fifth overall in the first round of the 1990 NHL draft. He was the youngest player to ever play in this hockey league at the age of 18 years old. Obviously, in today’s game, playing at 18 years old isn’t as incredible as when Jagr started, but it is still out of the norm. Not only was he the youngest player to make his debut, but he is also currently the oldest player to record a hat trick which is quite amazing if you think about it. He has won the Stanley Cup two consecutive years in a row with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992. Now, it’s almost been 24 years without a cup for this man, and he probably won’t stop playing until he gets that ring one last time so he can retire in the most glorious fashion: the oldest National hockey league player to win the Lord Stanley. It won’t be easy seeing that he is playing for a very young and inexperienced team in the Florida Panthers, but with Jagr’s experience and leadership, they might go further than most hockey fans would ever imagine. Heck, they are currently in first place in the Atlantic division, in front of power house teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins, already surprising many people thus far. Jagr currently has 24 goals and 32 assists this year, combining for a total of 56 points in 71 games, which is kind of amazing considering that he has more points than every player on the Montreal Canadians’ roster, including the likes of superstar talent like Alex Galchenyuk, Max Pacioretty and one of the NHL’s most elite defensemen PK Subban. Now that’s just ludicrous!
Now this extremely legendary icon has moved around a lot in the NHL. He started off as a Penguin, then went to the Washington Capitals, the New York Rangers, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Dallas Stars, the Boston Bruins, the New Jersey Devils and is now currently a member of the Florida Panthers. He has been traded around plenty, but he did spend most of his career with the Penguins, the Capitals and the Rangers. He was traded by many teams as they were afraid that his talent was dropping and the gas tank was almost empty seeing he was getting old fast; but the Florida Panthers had faith and approached him and now, he has broken many records this year. Examples include the fact that he became the third in the all time points list passing Gordie Howe with 1851 points. He is only 36 points away from breaking another record which Mark Messier currently holds by surpassing him on the all time points list for second place. He also surpassed Brett Hull on the all time scoring list with his 742 goals which now leaves him in third place overall. Finally, he is the oldest player to score a hat trick in the NHL. This man is a true inspiration for many people, even hockey players themselves as Matt Duchene actually got his stick signed by Jagr at this year’s All-Star game in Nashville. There is another reason why this man is such a legend; he is constantly working on his game to continue pursuing his last goal of lifting that cup one more time. He wants to taste glory one more time and then hang up his skates. Jagr even goes training at one o’clock in the morning. In their loss to the New York Islanders, Jaromir Jagr said that he had enough energy to continue playing, so he decided to hit the gym and work out until he had no more energy left. Now that is dedication. Not only does he train non stop and at extremely bizarre times, but he also drinks ten cups of coffee a day to keep him energized which is very insane. All of this just shows us how much he is dedicated and hungry for success, showing us his love for the game of hockey. This is why he is truly a major inspiration for many, he has been a hard working successful leader since his first days in the NHL and still is 22 years later into his illustrious record breaking career.
The real question we have to ask ourselves is: when will this man really retire? Will it be by attaining his goal and being successful one last time by conquering Lord Stanley? We will just have to wait and find out as the players begin shortly.
Written By: Brandon Brini
March 2016
