43 years ago in Kladno, Czechoslovakia, a boy was born. That boy turned into a man and became a legend and the 2nd greatest player to ever represent the Penguins logo. Jaromir Jagr is 2nd in nearly all of the Penguins career record books. His incredible career as a Penguin is only part of his career too. He might not have recreated the magic he did as a Penguin, such as winning 4 straight scoring titles from the 1997-98 season to the 2000-01 season but he kept on rolling as one of the best players in the game after he left Pittsburgh. By the way, even the best player to ever pickup a hockey stick Mario Lemieux, wasn't able to accomplish that feat of 4 straight scoring titles. Granted 66 had to compete against Wayne Gretzky, but that is still incredible.
Which is why it's always amazing when people want to disrespect and forget what Jagr did in Pittsburgh. Not only is Jagr one of the greatest players to ever pull on the Penguins sweater, he is one of the greatest players to ever pickup a hockey stick. 6th all time in goals with 716, one goal away from moving into a tie to 5th place all time. 7th all time in assists with 1068 (!!!!). 5th all time in points with 1784. While all those records are impressive, by far our favorite record that Double J holds is the one where he sits on top. With 127 goals, Jaromir Jagr is the all time leader in game winning goals. When the game matters the most Double J takes it to another level and is simply the best when it comes to clutch performances. No matter what happens, Jagr said he plans on playing in the NHL next season and even said he would take a tryout if it came to that. While we're all in on Jagr coming to Pittsburgh tomorrow, next year would be acceptable as well. Jagr has a very legitimate chance to move up further on some of those all time leaders lists and that moment happening with him in Pittsburgh Gold and Black, would only be fitting for the 2nd greatest player to ever play in Pittsburgh.
While we were doing this post, this slid onto our timelines on twitter and we had to share it. For some unknown reason, people seem to think Jagr hates Pittsburgh even though he has said multiple times that is not the case. It's a quick little paragraph but man, it is an incredible thing. #JagrWatch has always been a pipe dream but it's stuff like this that makes us forget when to quit. It might never happen, but man, would it be incredible.
Bring. Him. Home.
February 15, 1999:
IceTime (via Penguins Chronicles)
Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Washington Capitals - 3
Pittsburgh Penguins - 7
The Penguins had won 10 straight games heading into this one and this win pushed that streak to 11. Jagr celebrated his birthday with 1 goal and 3 assists for a 4 point night. Jagr's only goal came on the power play and was his only shot of the game. Double J took 22 shifts for 24:49 of time on ice, which led all Penguins that night. His 4 points tied him with the Penguins German Titov for the most of any player that night.
Happy Birthday Double J, now please come home
#JagrWatch
#BringHomeDoubleJ
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