Former NHL icon Jaromir Jagr will have to wait at least another three years to see his name on a Hockey Hall of Fame ballot.
Jagr officially kicked off his 38th season of professional hockey by skating for Rytíři Kladno, the Czech Extraliga team in which he owns a minority share, in a Friday game against HC Vítkovice.
Jagr, 53, recorded five goals and 16 points in 39 games last season with Kladno.
The Hall of Fame requires players to wait three years between retirement and induction, so returning for another season pushes Jagr’s candidacy back to at least 2029.
Jagr acquired full ownership of Kladno in 2017, but gave up control of the team when selling an 80 percent stake in January.
Despite handing over his majority share, Jagr is now back for a ninth straight season as a player for his hometown team.
Jagr’s agent Jaroslav Zidek said in a Czech language interview last September (h/t Russian Machine Never Breaks’ Ian Oland) that his client planned to retire after the 2024-25 season.
The winger then indicated that plan might have changed when speaking during an appearance on TNT in June.
“I said it might be my last year, but I’m not sure about it,” Jagr said in June. “I still love the game. I love to practice.”
Jagr added that there was “no pressure” to play now that he had sold his controlling stake in the team.
Back in the 1980s, Jagr originally climbed through the hockey ranks in his hometown before making his NHL debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990.
He helped Mario Lemieux and the Penguins win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992 on his way to becoming the most prolific winger in franchise history.
Jagr recorded 439 goals and 1,079 points in 806 games for Pittsburgh before he was traded to the Washington Capitals in 2001.
After two and a half seasons with the Caps, Jagr joined the New York Rangers, where he served as captain from 2006 to 2008 before leaving the NHL to play three professional seasons in Russia’s KHL.
Jagr returned to the NHL in 2011. He played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers before landing with the Calgary Flames in 2017.
The Flames cut Jagr at age 45 in January 2018, shortly before he signed a new contract with Kladno. The team was at the time a member of the second-highest league in Czechia, although it has since been promoted to the top Extraliga.
Jagr, who left the NHL ranked second only to Wayne Gretzky with 1,921 career points in 1,155 games over 24 seasons, returned to Pittsburgh to see his No. 68 jersey retired in January 2024.
The winger will be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame after he retires, but it doesn’t seem like the 53-year-old is any rush to hang up his skates.
