The 10 Best Moments from Jaromir Jagr's Hockey Career

Adam Gretz

The 10 Best Moments from Jaromir Jagr's Hockey Career

Denis Brodeur/NHLI via It appears as if Jaromir Jagr's 37-year hockey career is finally nearing its end, as he is expected to hang up his skates following the 2024-25 season in the Czech Extraliga.
The 52-year-old Jagr told The Athletic's Rob Rossi on Thursday that he intends to retire after this season, and also made reference to this being his "final season" in an Instagram post.
If he does call it a career, it is one of the most impressive hockey careers any player has ever had.
Over his 37-year career, which has included stops in the Czech Republic, NHL, KHL and brief one-game stops in Italy and Germany, Jagr has scored 953 goals, including 766 in the NHL which places him fourth on the league's all-time list behind Wayne Gretzky, Alex Ovechkin and Gordie Howe.
Along with that, he owns two Stanley Cup rings with the Pittsburgh Penguins, an Olympic gold medal, five NHL scoring titles and an MVP award.
He has also had some incredible individual moments. We are going to take a look back at some of the most memorable.

Game 1: 1992 Stanley Cup Final

After helping the Penguins win the 1991 Stanley Cup as an 18-year-old rookie, he took on an even bigger role the following year during their repeat season.
The signature moment of that postseason run - and one of the signature moments of his career - was the game-tying goal he scored in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks.
After the Penguins faced a 4-1 deficit, they stormed back for a 5-4 regulation win that included a mind-blowing, game-tying goal in the third period where he skated and dangled his way through the entire Blackhawks lineup.
The Blackhawks never recovered in the series from losing that lead as the Penguins swept them in four consecutive games for their second straight championship.

Jamie Squire/Allsport/ The 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, was the first to use NHL players, and it was the Czech Republic emerging as a surprise Gold medal winner, defeating heavy favorites like Canada and Russia.
Jagr played six games in the tournament, scoring one goal with four assists.
The Olympic Gold only added to his list of career milestones and achievements.
Eight years later he would help the Czech Republic win another medal when it took Bronze at the 2006 games.
In his Olympic career Jagr played 28 games for the Czech Republic, scoring nine goals with 23 total points.

An All-time Great Season for Rangers

Bruce Bennett/ Following three mostly forgettable seasons with the Washington Capitals, Jagr was traded to the New York Rangers late in the 2003-04 season. Coming out of the 2004 lockout, Jagr took advantage of the fresh start in New York and feasted on the league's new rule changes and put together the single greatest offensive season in Rangers franchise history.
Jagr scored 54 goals with 123 total points, both of which still stand as single season franchise records.
The Rangers made the playoffs in each of Jagr's three full seasons with the team, winning two rounds.
While the team success may not have been great, he made a huge impact in his brief time with the team. His 2005-06 season remains a standout moment for him.

Second Round of 1992 Playoffs

While Jagr played a role in the Penguins 1991 Stanley Cup win, he really had a breakout performance in 1992. It started in the second round against the New York Rangers.
With Mario Lemieux sidelined after being slashed by Adam Graves in Game 2, Jagr showed the hockey world that he was already capable of putting the team on his back and helping to carry it.
He had six points over the final four games of the series, including a dominant Game 5 performance (shown above) where he scored two goals, including a penalty shot goal and a highlight reel game-winning goal.
The Penguins won the series in six games without Lemieux playing in the final four, and Jagr's efforts were a big reason why.

Jagr Scores 500th Goal with Natural Hat Trick

Jagr's time with the Washington Capitals did not produce many great moments for him or the team, as the brief tenure there was easily the worst stretch of his career from a scoring and offensive perspective. It did, however, produce one milestone moment as he scored his 500th career NHL goal as a member of the Capitals.
That goal was the third goal of a natural hat trick in a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
He also added an assist in the game on the Capitals' fourth goal just for an added bonus.

Game 6: 1999 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

In terms of impact, this might have been Jagr's single greatest accomplishment.
It was not a series clinching win, and it did not result in a Stanley Cup that season. But it may have helped save the Pittsburgh Penguins. During the 1998-99 season the Penguins were facing severe financial issues and their long-term future (and short-term future) was very much in doubt. It was basically a day-to-day situation and it was believed at the time that they needed the gate revenue from a second playoff series just to stay in business.
They entered the playoffs as the No. 8 seed and drew a first-round matchup against a Stanley Cup favorite in the New Jersey Devils.
Entering Game 6 of the series the Penguins were facing a 3-2 series deficit and playing in what could have been the final home game in Pittsburgh. Even worse, Jagr, their best player, was dealing with a significant groin injury that left him questionable for the game.
He did, in fact, play and ended up turning in one of his most impressive single game performance.
While basically playing on one leg, he was the best player on the ice, scored the game-tying goal with two minutes to play in regulation and then won it in overtime. The Penguins went on to win Game 7 of the series on the road and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. The franchise eventually found more stable financial footing (with Mario Lemieux eventually taking over ownership of the team) and have won three Stanley Cup since. None of that may have happened had Jagr not turned in this performance.

Game 2: 1991 Patrick Division Semi-finals

From the moment Jagr arrived in the NHL as an 18-year-old it was pretty apparent that he was going to be an immediate superstar.
He also wasted little time in showing that he had no fear of the biggest stage.
In just his second career playoff game, he scored a highlight reel overtime winner in Game 2 against the New Jersey Devils, helping bring the Penguins even in the series.
They would go on to win the series in seven games before winning the franchise's first ever Stanley Cup a few weeks later.

Jagr Spoils Wayne Gretzky's Retirement Party

This is one that kind of gets lost a little bit, but on April 18, 1999, the NHL's all-time leading goal-scorer and point-scorer, Wayne Gretzky, played his final career NHL game at Madison Square Garden. It was a huge celebration for The Great One, and Jagr ended up spoiling the party by scoring the game-winning goal just a little over a minute into the overtime period.
Jagr would later go on to become the NHL's second all-time leading point producer with 1,921 points, trailing only Gretzky.

Jagr Becomes No. 2 on NHL All-time Scoring List

His Signature Goal

Jagr's career is not only full of clutch moments on the biggest stage, it is also full of absolutely incredible plays that only a small handful of players are capable of.
This goal, coming in a March 13, 1999 game against the Philadelphia Flyers, is one of those plays.
After splitting through two Flyers defenders, Jagr managed to get a backhanded shot off while being hauled down to the ice, and then batting the rebound in out of mid-air while sliding across the ice on his side.
He called it "lucky" after the game, a 4-0 Penguins win, but whether it was all skill, all luck, or some combination of the two it might be one of the signature goals of his career.

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