Jaromir Jagr opens 37th professional season in his Kladno Knights team’s Czech league loss
FILE - Former Pittsburgh Penguins player Jaromir Jagr stands at center ice and waves to fans after skating during warm ups after having a banner with his retired uniform number raised to the rafters of PPG Paints arena before an NHL hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Penguins in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene Puskar, File)
Jaromir Jagr has opened his 37th professional season, with hometown team Kladno Knights in the Czech league.
In what is expected to be his last season, the 52-year-old winger set up a power play goal, the only one Kladno scored in a 5-1 away loss to Pardubice on Wednesday night.
It was the first time Jagr had played a season’s opener since the Calgary Flames released the NHL’s second-highest points scorer in 2018. He returned six years ago to Kladno, the team where he made his debut as a teenager and which he owns.
He played at Pardubice despite not being fully fit due to a muscle injury that forced him to interrupt pre-season training for four weeks.
Jagr said he needed more games to be back to his best.
“That’s fine, (it was ) the first game,” he told local media.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports