Jaromir Jagr helped the Czech Republic win its first Olympic gold medal in hockey almost 20 years ago at the 1998 Nagano Olympic Winter Games, and if no NHL team comes calling this season, he may just try for another medal next year in PyeongChang.
Speaking in an interview with Czech TV Sports, the 13-time NHL all-star and two-time Stanley Cup champ said he would attempt to prolong his career in Europe if no NHL team extends him an offer, and if he was asked to help the Czech men’s team in PyeongChang, he’d be more than willing to suit up for his sixth Olympic hockey tournament this upcoming February.
Playing in all 82 games in 2016-17 with the Florida Panthers, Jagr became only the second player in NHL history to score 1,900 career points – second to only Wayne Gretzky (2,857) – according to Hockey-Reference.com.
The past two seasons Jagr had played under one-year deals with the Panthers. In the off-season, reports said the future hall of famer and the Panthers were on opposite sides of the aisle regarding his contract for the 2017-18 season. Jagr’s release was announced in July.
Prior to his release, Jagr had been having a bit of fun on Twitter regarding the lack of interest from NHL franchises.
FA 1994- all GMs called , FA 2017- 0 calls🏆😀 pic.twitter.com/7uLJm95CAB
— Jaromir Jagr (@68Jagr) June 29, 2017
Jagr does have at least one Olympic record within reach if he plays in PyeongChang. If the 45 year old can put the puck in the net in February he will become the oldest athlete to score a goal at the Olympics, beating the record set in Sochi by then 43-year-old Finland winger, Teemu Selanne.
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