Pittsburgh Retires Number 68 After Hall Of Fame NHL And International Career
On Sunday, Feb. 18, the Pittsburgh Penguins honored the career of Jaromir Jagr by retiring the number 68 and raising Jargr’s number to the ceiling of PPG Paints Arena prior to a game with the Los Angeles Kings.
Jagr played with the Penguins from 1990-2001 after the team drafted him with the fifth pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. At the time, Jagr was the youngest player in the NHL, at age 18. By the time his Hall of Fame NHL career ended, he was the oldest player in the NHL at age 45. In between those years, he became one of the greatest players to ever lace ’em up for any NHL team.
He is second in career points only to Wayne Gretzky and has the most career points of any European-born player. Jagr also holds records for career points and assists for any right-winger. He is the only player to appear in a Stanley Cup Finals both as a teenager and after age 40. Though he played for many NHL teams, he is most remembered as a Penguin, where he won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991-92.
Sidney Crosby, Other Penguins Give Jagr The Perfect Tribute
As part of the retirement ceremony, Jagr practiced with the team and joined them on the ice for warmups, where all of the players wore #68 sweaters to honor the number. But it was what they all wore on their heads that was the perfect tribute.
Captain Sidney Crosby and most of the players skated out of the tunnel for warmups sporting fake mullets, a nod to Jagr’s long hair throughout his playing days with Pittsburgh, and much of the rest of his career. Jagr and all of the fans in attendance got a kick out of the affectionate tip of the cap to his hairstyle. The Penguins also gave mullets to everyone in the stands.
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Jagr Thanks The Penguins, Fans And His Parents
During the actual retirement ceremony, Jagr gave a lengthy speech, where he thanked many people for his time in Pittsburgh and his entire career.
“I remember my first coach Bob Johnson always say ‘today is a great day for hockey,’ I’m going to use it and I’m going to change it a little bit. I’m going to say, today is a great day for me. To be here with you, hearing the cheers, I don’t even have to score, that’s beautiful. That’s never gets old.”
Jaromir Jagr at Number Retirement Ceremony
He also acknowledged his first trade — to the Washington Capitals — to the boos of many fans who still disapprove of the trade to this day.
“The fans in Pittsburgh since my first day when I got drafted here and the last day when I got traded … It happened. It happened … The whole 11 years here (in Pittsburgh) was amazing. It was probably the best years of my life so thank you for that. I’m proud to say Pittsburgh Penguins is my second home.”
Jaromir Jagr at Number Retirement Ceremony
Finally, he thanked his late father and his mother for all they did for him.
“I gotta say thanks to my dad. He passed away last year but I know he’s watching in heaven. Thank you, Dad. He never played hockey but everything he said was right. I thank you for everything. And my mom, she moved from Czech when I was 19 to US. She was here for 10 years. I want to say thank you for everything you did for me. I really appreciate it.”
Jaromir Jagr at Number Retirement Ceremony
Jagr also thanked many of the Penguins luminaries in attendance at the ceremony, which included Mario Lemieux, Scotty Bowman, Craig Patrick, Ron Francis, Matthew Barnaby, Robert Lang, Joe Mullen, Ken Wregget, Ulf Samuelsson, and Kevin Stevens.
A Career For All Hockey Fans
Because of his talent, Jagr was often despised as a Penguin by fans of the team’s rivals, especially the Washington Capitals, who still maintain a fierce rivalry with Pittsburgh after all of the playoff contests between the two teams.
But as his career kept going (and going, and going, and going …) after he left Pittsburgh, Jagr became not only a model of dedication and longevity but an ambassador for the game that fans of all teams grew to love. The popular Capitals blog, Russian Machine Never Breaks, offered this tribute:
Once a pariah in Washington, Jagr’s dedication to the sport we all love and the class he’s shown in the later years of his career has washed away any bad feelings locally.
Russian Machine Never Breaks
He truly is one of the greatest of all time. And, as he correctly pointed out, the Capitals would not have ended up with Alex Ovechkin without him.
Congratulations, Jaromir! And continued success from all of us at RMNB.
In addition to Pittsburgh and Washington, Jagr also played for the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins (where he also went to the Stanley Cup Finals), New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers, and Calgary Flames.
Internationally, Jagr also holds many records playing for the Czech Republic and won the gold medal in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
He still occasionally suits up for the team he owns, Rytíři Kladno in Czechia. In 37 professional seasons and over 2,000 professional games, he has the longest playing career in professional hockey history.
You can watch the full retirement ceremony from Sunday on the Penguins YouTube channel:
