"For me, it's like No. 1," Jagr told The Associated Press recently. "I don't really count Wayne Gretzky. He was from another planet. I don't think he was from this planet. Whatever he did, it's unbreakable."
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The Panthers stopped the game to present Jagr with a gold stick for the milestone.
Jagr, 44, has 755 goals and 1,133 assists in 1,663 NHL games, and has 20 points (six goals) in 34 games this season.
"I'm the guy that always want to get better, no matter what. You could say I could do a lot better, there's no question about it," Jagr said Thursday. "On the other side, I was very lucky with the injuries. I'm going to knock on … I didn't have any major injuries to sit me down for half of the year or year, especially late in the careers. That's the most important thing.
"I was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who had so many great players. I was 18 years old. You think you know everything, but obviously you know nothing, so you have a chance to learn from the best. It was Mario Lemieux, Bryan Trottier, Ron Francis later on, Paul Coffey. I had so many great players who showed me the way, how you have to work to be successful in NHL. Just to play with great players who understand the game and make it easy for you."
Messier had 694 goals and 1,193 assists in 1,756 NHL games. He was No. 2 since he passed Gordie Howe (1,850) on Nov. 4, 2003.
Jagr had 146 points in three seasons playing in Kontinental Hockey League from 2008-11. He had 67 points in European leagues during the 2004-05 season and a combined 68 points prior to the shortened 1994-95 and 2012-13 seasons.
"In my own mind, he's surpassed me a long time ago," Messier said this month. "I had a chance in my first year pro in the [World Hockey Association] and I amassed all of 11 points, so I wasn't quite as productive as he was leaving the NHL. The total he's amassed as a professional hockey player is astounding."
Jagr had 1,079 points with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He scored with seven other NHL teams: New York Rangers (319), Washington Capitals (201), Panthers (104), New Jersey Devils (96), Philadelphia Flyers (54), Dallas Stars (26) and Bruins (nine).
