With hair like that, he was destined for greatness.
Two Stanley Cups, one Hart Trophy, three Ted Lindsay Awards (formerly the Lester B. Pearson Award), five Art Ross trophies, and a Bill Masterton Trophy later - Jaromir Jagr is still raking in the accolades as a Florida Panther at the impressive age of 44.
The Czech Republic native entered a Tuesday matchup against the Buffalo Sabres a mere three points shy of tying Mark Messier for second in all-time NHL points. Jagr kicked off his week by leveling Messier’s mark, taking care of business with three assists in the shoot out win, bringing him to 1,887 – in 93 games fewer than Messier.
It then became a question of not if, but when Jags would move into sole possession of second place.
In the Panthers’ very next matchup on Thursday with the Boston Bruins visiting BB&T Center, all eyes were naturally on the ageless wonder.
Much to the delight of the home crowd, despite a 3-1 loss to Boston, Jagr notched an assist on Aleksandr Barkov’s lone goal of the game for the Panthers, moving him ahead of Messier.
For the feat, play was paused momentarily as Jagr was presented with a golden stick in honour of his achievement. Every fan in the building stood witness to history.
The point.
The gold stick.
The ovation. pic.twitter.com/0eGGx9kAjV
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) December 23, 2016
The recognition and admiration for what Jagr has accomplished over the course of his career was a sentiment shared as congratulations poured in from around the league, from Mark Messier himself, to current teammates - like Roberto Luongo, who jokingly took a little credit for Jagr's accomplishments.
From other @NHL Legends to ours.
Congrats, Jaromir. pic.twitter.com/w2l9xGB8JC
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) December 23, 2016
Jagr closed out his week with the Detroit Red Wings in town, and with another record within striking distance. Skating in his 1,664th NHL game, Jagr tallied an assist to bring him one away of Paul Coffey’s 1,135 mark for fifth place all-time in the category.
For a complete listing of the 2016-17 NHLPA.com Players of the Week, click here.
More Jaromir Jagr
