Jaromir Jagr is coming home. Finally.
The Penguins announced Friday that Jagr, one of the greatest players in NHL history and one of the most beloved athletes in Pittsburgh sports history, will have his fabled No. 68 jersey retired in a ceremony at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday, Feb. 18, before the Penguins take on the Los Angeles Kings.
Advertisement
The ceremony will take place three days following Jagr’s 52nd birthday. Jagr is the owner and team president of Rytiri Kladno in his hometown and has played as recently as this year for the team that he owns.
Jagr produced 439 goals and 1,079 points in 11 seasons with the Penguins before he was traded to Washington at age 29 in 2001 because of the Penguins’ financial problems.
See you on Feb. 18, @68Jagr 🫡 pic.twitter.com/qghioEu0iu
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 10, 2023
He helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in each of his first two seasons in Pittsburgh in 1991 and 1992, respectively. Jagr quickly became a hockey and cultural icon in Pittsburgh, his flowing mullet, boyish smile and remarkable penchant for taking over games in the third period establishing him as one of the most famous hockey figures in history.
While with the Penguins, he won five Art Ross Trophies for leading the league in scoring, including four straight between 1998 and 2001. He was also the Hart Trophy winner as league MVP in 1995.
Jagr would go on to play with eight other NHL teams. He nearly returned to the Penguins in 2011, before snubbing their offer for more money from the rival Philadelphia Flyers, which temporarily created animosity between Jagr and the Pittsburgh fan base.
GO DEEPER
Yohe: Jaromir Jagr, the Penguins and the city of Pittsburgh — a love story 32 years in the making
However, Jagr did receive a standing ovation from the Pittsburgh crowd in 2017 when he last appeared at PPG Paints Arena. He was in Pittsburgh in May for a card signing show and toured the Penguins’ locker room.
The Penguins have been attempting to coordinate with Jagr to make this moment happen for many years.
“I’m excited for fans to welcome him home,” Penguins president of business operations Kevin Acklin said. “This is honestly one of the greatest things I’ve ever been a part of. From our first first call over a year ago. He’s a special human.”
Etched on the Cup. And now, raised to the rafters.
The Penguins will raise two-time Stanley Cup Champion @68Jagr's jersey to the rafters at PPG Paints Arena on Feb. 18 vs. the Kings as part of a pre-game celebration. Details: https://t.co/tev827q8Fs pic.twitter.com/SYdzZbBCjJ
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 10, 2023
Why did this take so long?
Jagr was traded during the 2001 offseason, and for about the next decade, he was one of the more divisive figures in franchise history.
Advertisement
His return to the NHL for the 2011-12 season was a big story in Pittsburgh. Then-Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux, Jagr’s acknowledged idol, personally spoke to Jagr about returning as a player. Jagr’s agent even said, “His heart is in Pittsburgh.”
Jagr signed with the Flyers — the Penguins’ greatest rival. Then, in the 2012 playoffs, Jagr played a pivotal role in the Flyers’ upset of the Penguins, who were favored to win the Stanley Cup.
The next season, Jagr’s image was removed from a circle of prominent players, coaches and managers that is above the lockers in the Penguins’ dressing room — a move ordered by former CEO David Morehouse, who said those spots were reserved for retired personnel.
Lemieux told friends he was upset Jagr didn’t re-sign with the Penguins, but the truth is Jagr wasn’t deemed a fit by former general manager Ray Shero — even though his coach at the time, Dan Bylsma, was talking publicly about how Jagr would help the power play.
It all became a mess that somehow turned what was an anticipated homecoming for a prodigal son into even more acrimony.
Here, though, is where Lemieux stepped in; he insisted that Jagr’s No. 68 would be the next number retired by the Penguins. And Kevin Acklin, a Pittsburgh native who is the current president of business operations, made it his mission over the summer to set up a retirement celebration.
The Penguins always wanted to retire Jagr’s number, but his continued playing overseas made it difficult from a logistical standpoint. An early 2020s trip to Kladno by former Jagr teammate, Phil Bourque, a longtime Penguins broadcaster, helped move things forward. Read this story for more on that trip. — Rob Rossi, Penguins senior writer
How much will this matter to Penguins fans?
The sales department was already receiving requests within minutes of the announcement. This will be the hottest ticket to a Penguins game this season — and keep in mind the Penguins’ opener featured the team debut of Erik Karlsson and the NHL debut of Connor Bedard.
Advertisement
It’s difficult to put into words what Jagr means to Penguins fans, who are generally broken down into pre-Lemieux, Lemieux- and Sidney Crosby-eras. For the latter, Jagr is as much a curiosity as anything. For the former, he’s one of many amazing talents they never expected to see.
For the Lemieux-era fans, however, this is arguably the most welcome news since … well, there isn’t a comparable. Jagr was adored by fans during his 11 seasons in Pittsburgh, where people watched him grow from a gregarious teenager with a mullet into a captain who requested a trade after Lemieux’s celebrated un-retirement in 2000-01.
He was more than a great player. He was iconic. And for a sizable part of the fanbase, this will be the warm hug people — and Jagr — have wanted for a long, long time. — Rossi
What numbers are retired by Penguins?
Lemieux’s No. 66 was retired after his first retirement following the 1996-97 season.
The other number hanging from the rafters — at both the old Civic Arena and currently PPG Paints Arena — is the late Michel Brière’s No. 21. Their first star, Briere died about a year after a major automobile accident following his rookie season in 1969-70. Originally, a banner was hung at the Civic Arena as a tribute to Briere, but the Penguins didn’t officially consider his number retired until many years later.
Under the Lemieux group ownership, there was agreement internally to not retire many numbers even though the Penguins had multiple Hockey Hall of Fame players — Paul Coffey, Joe Mullen, Larry Murphy, Ron Francis and Mark Recchi — play alongside Lemieux on the early 1990s Stanley Cup teams. Instead, those players — along with Jagr — have likenesses honored outside the Penguins’ home dressing room.
Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang will have their current Nos. 87, 71 and 58 retired when they are finished playing, current ownership (Fenway Sports Group) has said. — Rossi
Required reading
(Photo: Denis Brodeur / NHLI via Getty Images)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57lGlsa2tmbXxzfJFsZmppX2Z9cLzEp56uoZ6oequt0aikoqpdn66ovoyjnKurla56s7HToqmepZWjwXA%3D