First game at 230 – Score two assists in a row
He turns 51 in February.
But today, club owner Jaromir Jagr had to put his skates on and return to the Czech Premier League.
– He went in and made assists, it’s insane, fellow Swedish legend Adam Brodecki told TT.
Czech top league team Retery Kladno has Jaromir Jagr as majority owner of the club.
Since leaving the NHL in 2017, the ice hockey legend has represented the club that debuted in 1988.
Last fall, at the age of 50, Jagr spoke of his desire to retire as a player.
230 days since the last time he played
But when Kladno, who finished last in the league, met Liberec on Sunday, Jagr was in the squad and made his debut of the season, 230 days after he last played.
– He trained with us, but didn’t feel like he would join and play now. But we had eight guys in training all week, and there was an infirmary on the team. There was a bit of a panic today and we needed to get some players involved, says fellow Swede Adam Brodecki in an interview with TT.
In contrast, as Kladno fell 7-3 with Adam Brodecki scoring one of the goals, Jaromir Jagr scored twice in just over 15 minutes of ice time.
– He went in and made assists, it’s crazy, Brodicky continues.
I had to jump
It was not certain until the end whether the legend would play the match. It was revealed moments before landing when teammate Tomáš Plekanec posted a photo on his Instagram story. However, it was removed after a while.
The 51-year-old himself says he felt somewhat compelled to play.
My return was not planned in advance. We only had 12 players in training last Saturday. When Liberec decided not to cancel the match, we only had 12 players in training last Saturday. Earlier this past fall, he said, there was a threat of suspension and I didn’t want that to happen.
Jaromir Jagr played three decades in the NHL over 24 seasons, and his last major league game was for the Calgary Flames on December 31, 2017. They can match up, winning two Stanley Cup titles.