Jaromir Jagr Tops Gordie Howe As Oldest Hockey Player To Score A Goal In A Pro Game

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Jaromir Jagr hasn’t played in an NHL game since 2017, but the hockey legend is still going strong and has now added yet another record to his lengthy list of achievements by surpassing a mark previously set by Gordie Howe.

There is zero doubt Jaromir Jagr will be immortalized in the Hockey Hall of Fame at some point in the future, and while he would’ve been eligible for that honor a few years ago if he’d hung up his skates after his time in the NHL came to an end, he’s seemingly in no rush to take a well-earned retirement.

Jagr started playing professional hockey in his native Czech Republic all the way back in 1984 (when it was still known as Czechoslovakia) before being drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990.

That marked the start of an NHL career that spanned a staggering 24 seasons, and when his time in the league came to an end, he headed back to the city where he was born to play for the Kladno Knights (the team he’s also owned since taking over for his father in 2011). 

If you’re familiar with Jagr, you know he’s a hockey machine who seemingly needs to play like the rest of us need air to breathe, and the fact that he’s currently in the midst of his 37th season as a pro a couple of months after turning 52 proves he’s simply built different.

Wayne Gretzky is the sole owner of a number of hockey records that will seemingly never be beaten, but it wasn’t a stretch to suggest Gordie Howe wouldn’t have to worry about having any competition when he became the oldest person to score a goal in a professional hockey game by netting one for the Hartford Whalers nine days after his 52nd birthday in 1980.

However, Mr. Hockey has officially been unseated thanks to what unfolded when Jagr opened up the scoring for his team during a recent playoff showdown with HC Litvinov, as he has now set a new mark to beat by putting the puck in the net 63 days after he turned 52.

Based on what we know about Jagr, it’s probably only a matter of time before he set the record yet again.