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Former NHL great Jaromir Jagr talks about retirement in his 38th professional season
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- Former NHL great Jaromir Jagr talks about retirement in his 38th professional season
PRAGUE — The storied hockey career of Jaromir Jagr might be coming to an end.
Currently in his 38th professional season, with his hometown Kladno Knights in the Czech league, the former NHL great strongly suggested that fans might not get to see him on the ice any more.
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"Probably not," Jagr said in an interview published late Friday on his Instagram account. "It would have to be a miracle. God would have to come, enter me and make me 15 years younger."
It wasn't immediately clear if Jagr will play again this season. The winger, who turned 54 on Feb. 15, has played just six games in the league for Kladno this season. His last game so far was on Dec. 21.
Jagr, who represented his country at five Olympics and led the Czechs to gold in Nagano in 1998, said he spent the last 10 days watching the Milan Cortina Games on television.
"I do nothing else but eat and watch TV," he said. This is the first Olympics with NHL players in a dozen years and Jagr appreciated that.
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"It's the best tournament in the last 10-15 years, certainly because of the presence of NHL players," he said. "The games are great."
But besides following hockey, short-track speed skating and figure skating, Jagr said he is trying to keep fit after recently gaining some 4-5 kilograms (9-11 pounds).
"It's really about discipline," Jagr said. "The worst thing is when you don't have to. Sometimes, it's better when you have to. When you don't have to, forcing yourself is the hardest thing," he said.
"I keep myself going. I try, I don't train to be ready to play, but I try to go skating every day if I have time."
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Jagr made his debut for Kladno at age 16 and returned to the club in 2018 when the Calgary Flames released him. Jagr remains second on the NHL's all-time points list behind Wayne Gretzky. Jagr won the Stanley Cup twice with the Pittsburgh Penguins in his first two NHL seasons.
Until early last year, Jagr served in dual roles as Kladno player and owner, splitting his time between chasing sponsors and dealing with administrative duties and ice time.
He sold a majority stake in Kladno last January in a season he had previously suggested would be his last but wasn't.
This season, if still playing, he has a chance to make the playoffs with Kladno for the first time.
