WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.299 Stopping podcast title. The Deep Dive. Jeremie 00:00:03.299 --> 00:00:05.580 Jager's unbreakable records and 38 -year hockey 00:00:05.580 --> 00:00:10.050 legacy. Apple podcast description. Join us on 00:00:10.050 --> 00:00:12.449 this deep dive as we explore the astounding NHL 00:00:12.449 --> 00:00:15.410 career and global legacy of Jeremie Jager, the 00:00:15.410 --> 00:00:17.710 legendary Czech ice hockey player who has defied 00:00:17.710 --> 00:00:20.149 age to play an unprecedented 38 professional 00:00:20.149 --> 00:00:22.910 seasons. Drawing from comprehensive biographical 00:00:22.910 --> 00:00:26.550 records up to October 2025, we unpack how a kid 00:00:26.550 --> 00:00:29.050 from Rytysi Kladno won back -to -back Stanley 00:00:29.050 --> 00:00:31.149 Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, became the 00:00:31.149 --> 00:00:33.409 second highest point scorer in NHL history behind 00:00:33.409 --> 00:00:35.770 Wayne Gretzky, and officially surpassed Gordie 00:00:35.770 --> 00:00:37.710 Howe's professional hockey longevity records. 00:00:38.789 --> 00:00:40.770 Discover the profound geopolitical meaning behind 00:00:40.770 --> 00:00:43.969 his iconic number 68, the unique ways he adapted 00:00:43.969 --> 00:00:46.130 to North America, and the selfless, heartbreaking 00:00:46.130 --> 00:00:48.549 reason he refuses to hang up his skates at age 00:00:48.549 --> 00:00:51.950 53. Whether you are a diehard sports fan tracking 00:00:51.950 --> 00:00:54.429 NHL history or simply fascinated by the ultimate 00:00:54.429 --> 00:00:56.530 story of athletic dedication and human endurance, 00:00:56.810 --> 00:00:58.729 this deep dive will leave you rethinking what 00:00:58.729 --> 00:01:01.090 is physically and mentally possible. Apple podcast 00:01:01.090 --> 00:01:04.230 description. Welcome to the deep dive. Today 00:01:04.230 --> 00:01:06.290 we're heading to the ice. Yeah, definitely a 00:01:06.290 --> 00:01:08.799 cold one today. Right. And we are looking at 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:11.140 what is definitively the longest playing career 00:01:11.140 --> 00:01:14.379 in, well, in professional ice hockey history. 00:01:14.659 --> 00:01:17.540 We've got this really comprehensive, fully updated 00:01:17.540 --> 00:01:20.840 profile of Jaromir Jager in front of us. And 00:01:20.840 --> 00:01:22.599 it brings us all the way through the start of 00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:25.700 his 38th professional season. Which is just, 00:01:25.780 --> 00:01:28.400 it's hard to even say out loud. 38 seasons. He's 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:31.659 a wild. That started in October 2025. And for 00:01:31.659 --> 00:01:33.379 you listening, I really want you to let that 00:01:33.379 --> 00:01:36.180 timeline sing in for a second. Imagine starting 00:01:36.180 --> 00:01:39.340 your career in 1988. A completely different world 00:01:39.340 --> 00:01:42.420 back then. Exactly. Now imagine showing up to 00:01:42.420 --> 00:01:45.299 do the exact same grueling, really physically 00:01:45.299 --> 00:01:49.719 punishing job 38 years later. Yeah. At 53 years 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:52.319 old. Jaramir Jagr isn't just a hockey player 00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:54.900 anymore. I mean, he's a living, breathing time 00:01:54.900 --> 00:01:57.659 capsule of the sport. It genuinely defies conventional 00:01:57.659 --> 00:02:00.400 logic. We are talking about a highly physical, 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:03.840 high -impact sport where players routinely age 00:02:03.840 --> 00:02:06.340 out. Or they just get battered into forced retirement 00:02:06.340 --> 00:02:08.360 by their early 30s. Yeah, your knees just give 00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:12.039 out. Right. Yet here is a man whose career spans 00:02:12.039 --> 00:02:15.000 multiple eras of the game, multiple generations 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:18.319 of athletes, and even major geopolitical shifts 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:21.509 in world history. He hasn't just survived the 00:02:21.509 --> 00:02:24.770 evolution of hockey. In many ways, he's bridged 00:02:24.770 --> 00:02:26.849 the gap between completely different epochs of 00:02:26.849 --> 00:02:29.050 the sport. And that bridge is exactly what we're 00:02:29.050 --> 00:02:31.699 crossing today. We're going to examine his frankly 00:02:31.699 --> 00:02:34.419 absurd statistical records, his incredibly colorful 00:02:34.419 --> 00:02:37.740 off -ice persona, and the deep, surprising motivations 00:02:37.740 --> 00:02:40.039 that are actually forcing him to stay on the 00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:42.240 ice today. Yeah, the reasons are heavier than 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:44.419 you might think. They really are. Okay, let's 00:02:44.419 --> 00:02:46.719 unpack this, starting from his origins. We have 00:02:46.719 --> 00:02:48.960 to talk about the kid from Kladno, Czechoslovakia, 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:51.120 and the immense weight of history he brought 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:53.159 with him when he was drafted fifth overall by 00:02:53.159 --> 00:02:55.360 the Pittsburgh Penguins. That was back in 1990. 00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:58.580 To understand the true magnitude of that 1990 00:02:58.580 --> 00:03:01.400 draft, You have to look at the world stage at 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:04.680 that precise moment. Jager was the first Czechoslovak 00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:06.560 player drafted by the National Hockey League 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:09.199 who didn't have to defect to the West to play. 00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:12.300 Wow, that's a massive detail. It really is. His 00:03:12.300 --> 00:03:14.419 selection coincided with the fall of the Iron 00:03:14.419 --> 00:03:17.580 Curtain. For decades prior, Eastern European 00:03:17.580 --> 00:03:20.379 players had to undertake incredibly dangerous, 00:03:20.620 --> 00:03:24.259 clandestine escapes just to join the NHL. Sneaking 00:03:24.259 --> 00:03:26.460 across borders in the middle of the night. Exactly. 00:03:27.379 --> 00:03:29.819 Jager, however, was able to attend the draft 00:03:29.819 --> 00:03:32.280 in Vancouver with his government's full blessing. 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:35.659 It was a monumental shift in how global talent 00:03:35.659 --> 00:03:38.419 entered the league. That political reality didn't 00:03:38.419 --> 00:03:40.520 just stay in Europe, though. He brought it directly 00:03:40.520 --> 00:03:43.620 onto the ice with him, which is the entire reason 00:03:43.620 --> 00:03:46.439 behind that iconic number 68 on his back. A lot 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:48.300 of people just assume it's a random lucky number. 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:50.740 Right. But for anyone wondering, it wasn't just 00:03:50.740 --> 00:03:54.259 a random digit. It honors the 1968 Prague Spring 00:03:54.259 --> 00:03:57.599 and specifically his grandfather, who died in 00:03:57.599 --> 00:03:59.780 prison opposing the postwar communist takeover 00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:02.199 and the forced collectivization of his family's 00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:04.979 farm. Yeah. He wore his family's history and 00:04:04.979 --> 00:04:07.050 a very specific political... statement on his 00:04:07.050 --> 00:04:09.969 sweater every single night framing that within 00:04:09.969 --> 00:04:12.689 his personal historical context is crucial here 00:04:12.689 --> 00:04:16.149 he held a staunch anti -communist stance from 00:04:16.149 --> 00:04:19.129 a very young age shaped entirely by what happened 00:04:19.129 --> 00:04:22.610 to his family We found notes detailing how, as 00:04:22.610 --> 00:04:25.550 a youth, he actually kept a photograph of American 00:04:25.550 --> 00:04:28.129 President Ronald Reagan hidden in his school 00:04:28.129 --> 00:04:30.329 gradebook. Really? Just tucked in there? Just 00:04:30.329 --> 00:04:32.910 tucked in his school book as a quiet, personal 00:04:32.910 --> 00:04:36.970 form of protest against Soviet policies. It underscores 00:04:36.970 --> 00:04:39.970 just how deeply intertwined his early life was 00:04:39.970 --> 00:04:42.329 with the political realities of Eastern Europe 00:04:42.329 --> 00:04:44.769 before he ever laced up skates in North America. 00:04:45.180 --> 00:04:47.680 You take a teenager carrying that kind of heavy 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:50.339 generational legacy and you drop him straight 00:04:50.339 --> 00:04:53.120 into early 90s Pittsburgh. The culture shock 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:55.180 must have been absolutely staggering. Oh, without 00:04:55.180 --> 00:04:57.120 a doubt. He barely had a grasp of the English 00:04:57.120 --> 00:04:59.860 language when he arrived, but he found some incredibly 00:04:59.860 --> 00:05:02.379 unique, honestly almost charming ways to adapt. 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:05.439 He would play Scrabble to build his English vocabulary. 00:05:05.500 --> 00:05:07.810 I love that detail. And my absolute favorite 00:05:07.810 --> 00:05:10.209 part, he would practice his pronunciation by 00:05:10.209 --> 00:05:12.629 reading the daily weather forecast on a local 00:05:12.629 --> 00:05:17.189 Pittsburgh rock radio station, WDVE, and he'd 00:05:17.189 --> 00:05:19.769 do it in this incredibly thick accent. It's a 00:05:19.769 --> 00:05:23.009 brilliant juxtaposition, isn't it? On one hand, 00:05:23.009 --> 00:05:25.889 he's the bearer of this heavy geopolitical family 00:05:25.889 --> 00:05:28.449 legacy, and on the other, he's just an 18 -year 00:05:28.449 --> 00:05:30.269 -old kid trying to figure out how to fit into 00:05:30.269 --> 00:05:33.279 a completely foreign culture. He definitely had 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:36.180 that infectious teenager energy. He and his teammate, 00:05:36.459 --> 00:05:38.920 fellow countryman Gigi Herdina, were quickly 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:41.980 dubbed the Checkmates by the fans. A classic 00:05:41.980 --> 00:05:44.860 early 90s nickname. Right. And it didn't take 00:05:44.860 --> 00:05:46.980 long for the Pittsburgh faithful to realize that 00:05:46.980 --> 00:05:49.259 the letters in Jaramier could be scrambled into 00:05:49.259 --> 00:05:52.079 an anagram for Mario Jr. Which was the ultimate 00:05:52.079 --> 00:05:54.220 compliment in Pittsburgh. Exactly, given that 00:05:54.220 --> 00:05:56.620 Mario Lemieux was the absolute face of the franchise. 00:05:57.100 --> 00:05:59.579 That organic connection to Lemieux. perfectly 00:05:59.579 --> 00:06:03.620 sets up his initial era of peak dominance. Jagr 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:05.779 stepped in as a phenomenal supporting player 00:06:05.779 --> 00:06:08.620 on a powerhouse team, helping them win back -to 00:06:08.620 --> 00:06:12.439 -back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992. He actually 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:14.519 became one of the youngest players in NHL history 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:16.720 to score a goal in the Stanley Cup Finals. Doing 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:20.480 that at just 20 years old. Yep. But he was never 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:22.980 destined to stay in a supporting role. Far from 00:06:22.980 --> 00:06:25.120 it. Once he found his footing, the league basically 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:28.000 belonged to him. He secured five Art Ross trophies 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:29.839 as the league's leading scorer, four of them 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:32.519 consecutively, which is wild in the modern era. 00:06:32.699 --> 00:06:35.279 He also added a Hart Memorial trophy as the league 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:38.629 MVP in 1999. The sheer volume of points he was 00:06:38.629 --> 00:06:40.850 producing was staggering, even for the high scoring 00:06:40.850 --> 00:06:43.389 era he played in. If we connect this to the bigger 00:06:43.389 --> 00:06:45.550 picture, you have to look closely at his 1995 00:06:45.550 --> 00:06:49.810 to 1996 season. He tallied 149 points. Unbelievable 00:06:49.810 --> 00:06:52.250 numbers. To this day, his totals for assists 00:06:52.250 --> 00:06:54.730 and points from that specific season stand as 00:06:54.730 --> 00:06:56.529 the all -time records for right wingers in the 00:06:56.529 --> 00:06:59.569 NHL. And it wasn't just about his speed or his 00:06:59.569 --> 00:07:02.170 shot. What made his style of play so uniquely 00:07:02.170 --> 00:07:04.649 unstoppable was his legendary lower body strength. 00:07:04.889 --> 00:07:08.009 He was like a tank on skates. Exactly. He would 00:07:08.009 --> 00:07:10.329 use his massive frame to shield the puck along 00:07:10.329 --> 00:07:12.910 the boards, and defensemen literally couldn't 00:07:12.910 --> 00:07:15.829 move him off of it. He remains the most productive 00:07:15.829 --> 00:07:18.970 European -born player in NHL history, sitting 00:07:18.970 --> 00:07:21.750 second only to Wayne Gretzky in total career 00:07:21.750 --> 00:07:25.129 NHL points. In any discussion of the greatest 00:07:25.129 --> 00:07:27.569 to ever play the game, his statistical footprint 00:07:27.569 --> 00:07:30.250 is unavoidable. It's the kind of peak performance 00:07:30.250 --> 00:07:32.430 that makes you assume the rest of his career 00:07:32.430 --> 00:07:35.709 was a smooth glide to the Hall of Fame. But no 00:07:35.709 --> 00:07:38.230 career spanning nearly four decades escapes turbulence. 00:07:38.589 --> 00:07:41.110 We hit the middle years and things get complicated. 00:07:41.430 --> 00:07:43.629 Very complicated. Mario Lemieux comes back from 00:07:43.629 --> 00:07:46.310 retirement in 2000 and suddenly there's friction. 00:07:46.889 --> 00:07:49.490 Pittsburgh was a media market team, and they 00:07:49.490 --> 00:07:51.889 simply couldn't afford Jogger's massive salary 00:07:51.889 --> 00:07:54.810 alongside Lemieux. So he gets traded to the Washington 00:07:54.810 --> 00:07:57.629 Capitals, signing what was then the largest contract 00:07:57.629 --> 00:08:03.050 in NHL history. $77 million. $77 million over 00:08:03.050 --> 00:08:06.250 seven years. An average annual value of $11 million 00:08:06.250 --> 00:08:10.149 back then was astronomical. But the fit in Washington 00:08:10.149 --> 00:08:13.000 was fundamentally flawed from the start. For 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:15.259 the first time in his career, he failed to finish 00:08:15.259 --> 00:08:17.800 among the NHL's top scorers. The system just 00:08:17.800 --> 00:08:20.279 wasn't right for him. No, the Capitals struggled 00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:22.319 to succeed in the playoffs, and the coaching 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:25.439 style just didn't suit his play. It quickly devolved 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:27.579 into an era marked by unfulfilled expectations, 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:30.899 friction with management, and a desperate desire 00:08:30.899 --> 00:08:33.500 by the organization to shed his massive salary. 00:08:33.740 --> 00:08:35.879 Which triggers another trade, this time shipping 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:39.120 him to the New York Rangers in 2004. At this 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:41.620 point, a lot of analysts were rating him off. 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:43.860 The Rangers had missed the playoffs for seven 00:08:43.860 --> 00:08:46.100 straight seasons, they'd just cleared out their 00:08:46.100 --> 00:08:48.139 veteran talent, and expectations were on the 00:08:48.139 --> 00:08:50.340 floor. People thought his best days were far 00:08:50.340 --> 00:08:52.659 behind him. They were very wrong. Very wrong. 00:08:52.980 --> 00:08:55.440 Jogger seemingly took that personally. At age 00:08:55.440 --> 00:08:59.440 34, he completely resurges. In the 2005 -2006 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:02.279 season, he utterly shatters the Rangers' single 00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:05.519 -season franchise records with 54 goals and 123 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:08.789 points. It was an absolute revenge tour. That 00:09:08.789 --> 00:09:12.070 resurgence is a masterclass in sheer talent and 00:09:12.070 --> 00:09:14.990 adaptability. It proved that his hockey IQ was 00:09:14.990 --> 00:09:17.710 just as vital as his physical strength. And it's 00:09:17.710 --> 00:09:20.549 precisely during this era that his global legacy 00:09:20.549 --> 00:09:23.429 was permanently cemented. When he captured world 00:09:23.429 --> 00:09:26.889 championship gold in 2005, he officially entered 00:09:26.889 --> 00:09:29.870 the triple gold club. Stanley Cup, Olympic gold, 00:09:29.990 --> 00:09:32.610 world championship. Exactly. Having already won 00:09:32.610 --> 00:09:34.529 his Stanley Cups in the early 90s and an Olympic 00:09:34.529 --> 00:09:36.389 gold medal with the Czech Republic in Nagano 00:09:36.389 --> 00:09:39.950 in 1998, completing that trifecta put him in 00:09:39.950 --> 00:09:43.190 an incredibly elite, globally recognized echelon 00:09:43.190 --> 00:09:45.690 of the sport. Here's where it gets really interesting, 00:09:45.769 --> 00:09:48.029 though, because you cannot talk about Jeremy 00:09:48.029 --> 00:09:50.690 Ajagra without diving into his incredibly colorful 00:09:50.690 --> 00:09:53.230 off -ice persona. Right. The man is a mythic 00:09:53.230 --> 00:09:55.830 figure. And he has this almost Teflon quality 00:09:55.830 --> 00:09:57.769 when it comes to controversies that would have 00:09:57.769 --> 00:10:00.309 absolutely sunk other athletes. For instance, 00:10:00.409 --> 00:10:02.909 in 2003, he openly admitted he had to settle 00:10:02.909 --> 00:10:06.190 a $950 ,000 gambling debt with internet betting 00:10:06.190 --> 00:10:09.009 sites. Nearly a million dollars. Yeah, most players 00:10:09.009 --> 00:10:11.950 would go into hiding over that. Then in 2015, 00:10:12.330 --> 00:10:15.090 an 18 -year -old model tried to extort him for 00:10:15.090 --> 00:10:17.669 $2 ,000, threatening to post a picture of them 00:10:17.669 --> 00:10:20.110 in bed together online. His response to that 00:10:20.110 --> 00:10:22.549 extortion attempt really highlights that Teflon 00:10:22.549 --> 00:10:25.200 quality you mentioned. Instead of panicking or 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:27.519 paying her off to protect his image, he simply 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:30.299 told her, I don't care. Just, I don't care. The 00:10:30.299 --> 00:10:32.700 photo was subsequently published online, and 00:10:32.700 --> 00:10:34.759 the public reaction was almost non -existent 00:10:34.759 --> 00:10:37.500 in terms of outrage. If anything, it became a 00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:39.919 meme. People started posing for photos mimicking 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:42.519 the picture. It had absolutely zero negative 00:10:42.519 --> 00:10:44.840 impact on his legacy or his public standing, 00:10:45.059 --> 00:10:47.220 which is rare for an athlete of his caliber. 00:10:47.610 --> 00:10:49.370 It's almost like the pressure of carrying his 00:10:49.370 --> 00:10:51.870 hometown's expectations and his family's heavy 00:10:51.870 --> 00:10:54.470 political legacy made him completely immune to 00:10:54.470 --> 00:10:56.909 standard celebrity gossip. He just couldn't be 00:10:56.909 --> 00:10:59.610 bothered. But while he had these chaotic, highly 00:10:59.610 --> 00:11:02.230 publicized moments in the media, there were also 00:11:02.230 --> 00:11:06.350 periods of profound, quiet seriousness. In 2008, 00:11:06.529 --> 00:11:09.070 he makes the shocking decision to leave the NHL 00:11:09.070 --> 00:11:11.929 entirely. Out of nowhere. He signs a massive 00:11:11.929 --> 00:11:14.110 deal to play in the Continental Hockey League 00:11:14.110 --> 00:11:17.129 in Russia with Avangard Omsk. And that three 00:11:17.129 --> 00:11:19.610 -year detour in Russia was marked by an event 00:11:19.610 --> 00:11:23.070 that forever changed him. During a game, a 19 00:11:23.070 --> 00:11:25.970 -year -old player named Alexei Cherepanov, who 00:11:25.970 --> 00:11:27.730 was actually a first -round draft pick of the 00:11:27.730 --> 00:11:31.690 Rangers, and I highly touted prospect, collapsed 00:11:31.690 --> 00:11:34.330 on the bench directly next to Jagr. Oh, man. 00:11:34.610 --> 00:11:36.490 They had literally just finished their shift 00:11:36.490 --> 00:11:39.700 and were discussing the play. Tragically, Cheropinov 00:11:39.700 --> 00:11:41.799 passed away right then. When you read about that 00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:44.899 moment, it's just incredibly sobering. You have 00:11:44.899 --> 00:11:47.740 to wonder how witnessing something that traumatic 00:11:47.740 --> 00:11:50.179 right next to you on the bench shifts your entire 00:11:50.179 --> 00:11:52.500 perspective on the game and on life in general. 00:11:52.659 --> 00:11:55.879 It undeniably forced a profound shift. Facing 00:11:55.879 --> 00:11:58.159 that kind of sudden mortality on the ice deepened 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:00.320 his introspection significantly. It was during 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:02.080 this period in Russia, a historically Orthodox 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:05.000 nation, that Jager began speaking much more openly 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:07.039 about his faith. He is an Orthodox Christian, 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:10.759 having been baptized years earlier in 2001 in 00:12:10.759 --> 00:12:13.620 Prague. Following the tragedy, you really start 00:12:13.620 --> 00:12:16.139 to see the deeper philosophical layers of the 00:12:16.139 --> 00:12:19.169 man emerge from beneath the mullet. And the scoring 00:12:19.169 --> 00:12:21.850 titles. You definitely do. It adds a lot of weight 00:12:21.850 --> 00:12:24.070 to what came next. After three years away in 00:12:24.070 --> 00:12:26.169 Russia, almost everyone assumed his North American 00:12:26.169 --> 00:12:28.789 career was a closed chapter. He was pushing 40. 00:12:29.230 --> 00:12:32.809 But in 2011, at age 39, he comes back to the 00:12:32.809 --> 00:12:35.970 NHL. A triumphant return. And he doesn't just 00:12:35.970 --> 00:12:39.009 play a brief farewell tour. He embarks on this 00:12:39.009 --> 00:12:41.529 wild journeyman phase that becomes almost as 00:12:41.529 --> 00:12:44.210 famous as his prime years. He suits up for the 00:12:44.210 --> 00:12:46.450 Flyers, the Stars, the Bruins, the Devils, the 00:12:46.450 --> 00:12:49.370 Panthers and the Flames. What's fascinating here 00:12:49.370 --> 00:12:51.629 is how he adapted his game during this phase. 00:12:51.889 --> 00:12:54.309 He couldn't rely on the explosive speed of his 00:12:54.309 --> 00:12:56.629 20s anymore, so he doubled down on his hockey 00:12:56.629 --> 00:12:59.289 sense, his positioning, and that legendary puck 00:12:59.289 --> 00:13:01.929 protection. His stint with the Boston Bruins 00:13:01.929 --> 00:13:04.470 is a perfect example of his enduring value. In 00:13:04.470 --> 00:13:07.149 2013, he helped lead Boston to the Stanley Cup 00:13:07.149 --> 00:13:09.769 Finals. That Bruins run is still mind -blowing. 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:13.940 By making the finals in 2013, he set an NHL record 00:13:13.940 --> 00:13:16.039 for the longest gap between Stanley Cup finals 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:20.120 appearances for a single player. 21 years. 21 00:13:20.120 --> 00:13:22.960 years between finals. He hadn't been to the finals 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:25.779 since 1992 with Pittsburgh. He was literally 00:13:25.779 --> 00:13:28.539 battling along the boards, alongside teammates 00:13:28.539 --> 00:13:30.600 and against opponents who were still in diapers 00:13:30.600 --> 00:13:33.230 the last time he hoisted the cup. And his sheer 00:13:33.230 --> 00:13:35.610 longevity during this era spawned one of the 00:13:35.610 --> 00:13:38.409 absolute best fan bases in all of sports, the 00:13:38.409 --> 00:13:41.250 Traveling Jaggers. A truly fantastic subculture. 00:13:41.370 --> 00:13:43.710 It was a dedicated group of fans from Alberta 00:13:43.710 --> 00:13:46.549 who would attend games wearing fake mullets and 00:13:46.549 --> 00:13:48.929 the authentic jerseys of his various teams, all 00:13:48.929 --> 00:13:51.289 11 of them, including his international and all 00:13:51.289 --> 00:13:53.789 -star sweaters. It's hilarious. They followed 00:13:53.789 --> 00:13:55.929 him around North America, essentially turning 00:13:55.929 --> 00:13:58.409 his late career games into a traveling tribute 00:13:58.409 --> 00:14:01.309 to his endurance. It was a visual representation 00:14:01.309 --> 00:14:03.929 of how beloved he had become across the entire 00:14:03.929 --> 00:14:06.370 league, regardless of which jersey he was wearing. 00:14:06.490 --> 00:14:09.570 The visual of a dozen guys in fake mullets aggressively 00:14:09.570 --> 00:14:11.730 cheering him on from the glass never gets old. 00:14:12.169 --> 00:14:14.649 But as fun as that era was, we have to move into 00:14:14.649 --> 00:14:16.730 the final act of this story because this is where 00:14:16.730 --> 00:14:19.509 the sheer raw reality of what he is doing today. 00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:23.419 really hits home. Yes. If we jump forward to 00:14:23.419 --> 00:14:28.320 April 2024, at exactly 52 years and 63 days old, 00:14:28.539 --> 00:14:31.080 Jagras scored a goal in a professional game. 00:14:31.720 --> 00:14:34.820 With that specific goal, he officially broke 00:14:34.820 --> 00:14:37.539 Gordie Howe's longstanding record as the oldest 00:14:37.539 --> 00:14:39.580 player to ever score in a professional hockey 00:14:39.580 --> 00:14:42.320 competition. Howe had set his record at 52 years 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:45.159 and six days. Correct. Surpassing Mr. Hockey 00:14:45.159 --> 00:14:47.440 in longevity is a milestone few thought would 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:49.500 ever be touched. So what does this all mean? 00:14:49.659 --> 00:14:51.779 Why on earth is he still lacing up his skates 00:14:51.779 --> 00:14:55.200 for the 2025 -2026 season? He debuted for his 00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:57.779 hometown team, Ratiti Kladno, in October 2025 00:14:57.779 --> 00:15:01.139 at age 53. You look at his resume and you'd think 00:15:01.139 --> 00:15:02.820 the guy has absolutely nothing left to prove. 00:15:02.899 --> 00:15:04.980 He has the records, he has the money, his legacy 00:15:04.980 --> 00:15:07.360 is ironclad. Why put your body through that at 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:10.580 53? The why is deeply sobering, and it strips 00:15:10.580 --> 00:15:13.809 away the romanticism of playing forever. It is 00:15:13.809 --> 00:15:17.470 fundamentally a burden of love. He owns the Reti 00:15:17.470 --> 00:15:19.230 J. Claudino team. He took over the presidency 00:15:19.230 --> 00:15:21.629 from his father, who unfortunately passed away 00:15:21.629 --> 00:15:25.350 in 2022. Zagre has been remarkably candid about 00:15:25.350 --> 00:15:27.330 his internal struggles regarding his continued 00:15:27.330 --> 00:15:31.090 play. Back in 2022, he openly admitted that he 00:15:31.090 --> 00:15:33.250 completely lacks the motivation for the physically 00:15:33.250 --> 00:15:35.590 demanding nature of the game at this stage of 00:15:35.590 --> 00:15:37.889 his life. He confessed that he essentially has 00:15:37.889 --> 00:15:40.169 to force himself to gear up and play. He has 00:15:40.169 --> 00:15:41.870 to force himself. He doesn't even want to be 00:15:41.870 --> 00:15:44.429 out there. Precisely. His biggest fear, which 00:15:44.429 --> 00:15:46.610 he has stated publicly, is that if he formally 00:15:46.610 --> 00:15:49.330 retires as a player, the team will lose its vital 00:15:49.330 --> 00:15:52.009 sponsors. And if they lose their sponsors, the 00:15:52.009 --> 00:15:54.870 franchise's very existence in his hometown is 00:15:54.870 --> 00:15:57.610 jeopardized. He is quite literally carrying an 00:15:57.610 --> 00:16:00.070 entire professional hockey organization on his 00:16:00.070 --> 00:16:02.429 53 -year -old back just to keep them financially 00:16:02.429 --> 00:16:04.549 afloat. For you listening, I want you to think 00:16:04.549 --> 00:16:07.009 about your own career for a second. How often 00:16:07.009 --> 00:16:09.029 do you hit a wall and feel burnt out in your 00:16:09.029 --> 00:16:11.889 job? How often do you feel like you are too old 00:16:11.889 --> 00:16:14.450 for a career pivot? Or that you just desperately 00:16:14.450 --> 00:16:16.669 want to rest and enjoy what you've built? It's 00:16:16.669 --> 00:16:19.269 a universal feeling. Now imagine having to absorb 00:16:19.269 --> 00:16:22.070 brutal physical hits from 20 -year -old professional 00:16:22.070 --> 00:16:25.799 athletes on a sheet of ice at age 53. And you 00:16:25.799 --> 00:16:27.500 aren't doing it because you're chasing glory 00:16:27.500 --> 00:16:30.220 or a championship, but because an entire community 00:16:30.220 --> 00:16:32.320 and the livelihoods of an entire organization 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:35.240 rely entirely on your physical presence to survive. 00:16:35.559 --> 00:16:38.179 It completely reframes our everyday concepts 00:16:38.179 --> 00:16:41.120 of duty, of professional longevity, and of the 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:44.120 absolute physical limits of the human body. It 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:46.159 is a profound shift from playing for passion 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:49.139 to playing at a sheer, inescapable obligation. 00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:52.379 He has credited his physical strength and remarkable 00:16:52.379 --> 00:16:55.279 endurance to growing up on a farm and doing heavy 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:58.120 year -round labor as a child. But even that deep 00:16:58.120 --> 00:17:00.879 well of resilience runs dry eventually. He is 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:03.080 pushing the absolute boundaries of what is medically 00:17:03.080 --> 00:17:05.180 and psychologically sustainable for an athlete. 00:17:05.420 --> 00:17:07.700 It's incredible and honestly a little heartbreaking. 00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:10.500 So just to recap the monumental scale of this 00:17:10.500 --> 00:17:13.759 man's life, he is second all -time in NHL points. 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:17.369 He has a career spanning... 38 professional seasons. 00:17:17.890 --> 00:17:20.089 This is a guy who started his career while the 00:17:20.089 --> 00:17:22.390 Iron Curtain was still dividing Europe and who 00:17:22.390 --> 00:17:24.910 is still taking punishing shifts along the boards 00:17:24.910 --> 00:17:28.529 in October 2025. It is truly a legacy that will 00:17:28.529 --> 00:17:31.670 never, ever be replicated in modern sports. This 00:17:31.670 --> 00:17:33.569 raises an important question, and it's something 00:17:33.569 --> 00:17:35.890 closely tied to the autobiography he just published 00:17:35.890 --> 00:17:39.750 in October 2025, titled J68. Right, the new book. 00:17:39.869 --> 00:17:42.190 The book dives deeply into his life, his faith, 00:17:42.329 --> 00:17:45.170 and the true meaning of sport. But examining 00:17:45.170 --> 00:17:47.589 his current situation leaves you wondering, when 00:17:47.589 --> 00:17:50.269 you dedicate 38 years of your adult life to a 00:17:50.269 --> 00:17:53.369 single grueling physical routine, and you do 00:17:53.369 --> 00:17:55.890 it out of a profound sense of duty, does the 00:17:55.890 --> 00:17:58.170 sport eventually stop being a game entirely? 00:17:58.430 --> 00:18:00.849 Does it just become your entire identity? Exactly. 00:18:01.919 --> 00:18:05.420 Is Jaromir Jagr's inability to step away a beautiful, 00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:08.019 selfless testament to loyalty to his hometown? 00:18:08.680 --> 00:18:11.160 Or is it a tragic reflection of a man who simply 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:13.599 might not know how to exist in the world without 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:16.579 skates on his feet? It's something for you to 00:18:16.579 --> 00:18:18.779 think about the next time you consider the true 00:18:18.779 --> 00:18:21.240 weight and purpose of your own life's work. That 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:23.359 is a fascinating way to look at it. We will leave 00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:25.059 you with that thought. Thanks for joining us 00:18:25.059 --> 00:18:27.559 on this deep dive into the life of Jaromir Jagr, 00:18:27.579 --> 00:18:28.799 and we'll catch you next time.