The Pittsburgh Penguins‘ organizational history has a plethora of great players, and we’ve decided to go through the best Penguins’ players to wear each jersey number. Today, we continue the list by naming the best #68 in Penguins’ history.
There is only one player in franchise history to have worn #68 for the Penguins, and I think we all know who it is.
The best #68 in history is “Jags” – the one and the only, Jaromir Jagr.
© Charles LeClaire – Imagn Images
Known for his youthful energy, infectious smile, and notorious haircut, Jagr was drafted fifth overall by Pittsburgh in 1990, and he made an impact from the get-go. He registered 27 goals and 57 points during his rookie season – including three goals and 13 points in the 1991 playoffs to help Pittsburgh win their first Stanley Cup Championship in franchise history.
But it was the seasons that followed – the many, many seasons that followed – that really showcased why Jagr is largely considered as one of the best to ever do it.
Starting in the the 1992-93 season, Jagr was above point-per-game for 11 consecutive seasons – with most of his best years in black and gold.
With Mario Lemieux missing significant portions of hockey during the 90s because of back problems, cancer, and his first retirement, Jagr was, arguably, the star of the decade for the Penguins. Prior to his departure in the summer of 2001 – which we’ll get to in a second – Jagr had put up four seasons of 100 points or more, including his career-best season in 1995-96, when he recorded 62 goals and 149 points.
During his Penguins tenure, he won five Art Ross Trophies as the league’s leading scorer – and they all occurred between 1994 and 2001.
But that wasn’t what defined – and will continue to define – his Pittsburgh legacy.
Lemieux – and even Crosby, to an extent – are both largely credited with saving the Penguins’ franchise from bankruptcy and relocation a few times over. But there has not been a more definitive “hero” moment in franchise history than a certain goal Jagr scored in 1999.
Despite a nagging groin injury keeping him out since Game 1 of their opening round series against the New Jersey Devils, Jagr played through the pain in Game 6 with his team trailing in the series, 3-2, because he knew what was on the line.
The Penguins had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy before the season began, and although Lemieux was trying to purchase the team, co-owner Roger Marino was looking to relocate. And they needed the money from second-round gate revenue in order to make payments. Therefore, if the Penguins did not win the series and force another round, they wouldn’t have been able to stay in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh was trailing 2-1 late in the game. Jagr scored the tying goal with just 2:12 left in regulation, and then he scored the biggest goal in franchise history during overtime to force Game 7, which the Penguins won in New Jersey to propel them to the second round.
Unfortunately, because of the Penguins’ financial struggles yet again, Jagr was traded to the Washington Capitals in the summer of 2001. He was booed every time he came back to Pittsburgh after that aside from his final game in Pittsburgh in 2017. And he played in the NHL until the 2017-18 season, capping off a remarkably long 24-year NHL career that was even briefly interrupted between 2008 and 2011, when he played in the KHL.
On February 18, 2024, Jagr made an epic comeback to the Steel City to get his no. 68 raised to the rafters, becoming just the third player in franchise history to receive the honor.
And he wasn’t met with boos, he was met with choruses of cheers from Pittsburgh fans throughout the evening:
And, to top it all off, he even took warmups with the current Penguins’ team, who were all sporting mullets in his honor.
And, later in the year, on March 14, the Penguins were set to have a Jagr bobblehead promotion. However, that did not happen, as the 10,000 Jagr bobbleheads promised to the first fans through the door that evening were stolen en route to the arena.
The bobbleheads were eventually located, and fans were able to redeem vouchers at a later date.
The Penguins announced today that the shipment carrying the Jagr bobbleheads for tonight’s game has been stolen en route to Pittsburgh.
As a result, the bobbleheads will not be distributed at tonight’s game, but will be distributed at a later date.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 14, 2024
Regardless, all of this speaks to how beloved Jagr is in Pittsburgh and how he is regarded today as one of the franchise’s biggest cult heroes.
Jagr is playing in what will, presumably, be his last season in professional hockey in the Czech Republic for the Kladno Knights, the team he owns. Over the course of his NHL career, Jagr recorded 766 goals and 1,921 points in 1,733 NHL games and was named to the NHL 100 list as one of the NHL’s 100 greatest players of all time.
