Penguins Players Can’t Wait to ‘Celebrate 68’

As the Penguins waited for their flight home from California to take off on Friday, the distinctive sound of a ringtone could be heard going off in different parts of the plane.

But it wasn’t anybody’s phone – it was actually the start of the video the Penguins filmed with Jaromir Jagr as part of the announcement that they will raise his No. 68 jersey to the rafters at PPG Paints Arena on Feb. 18 versus Los Angeles as part of a pre-game celebration.

The players were thrilled to hear the news, as they have so much admiration for Jagr, with Bryan Rust calling him “a legend of the game.”

“It’ll be cool to be a part of that,” Sidney Crosby said with a grin. “There was a lot of talk, so I was hoping that would be something we would be able to be a part of. He’s had some great years here, and an amazing career. I think we’re all excited to be a part of it.”

After Crosby and Evgeni Malkin led the Penguins to their second straight championship in 2017, they recreated the legendary back-to-back photo with the Stanley Cup that Jagr and Mario Lemieux took in 1992. After being drafted fifth overall by Pittsburgh in 1990, Jagr came in and played an instrumental role in those runs, picking up 14 goals and 37 points in 45 postseason contests over that two-year span.

“He came in at a young age, was able to win,” Crosby said. “They won back-to-back his first couple years, that’s pretty hard to do. To be that big a part of it at that age, I think it was probably a good sign as to what was to come. He’s had some amazing moments throughout his whole career, but especially with Pittsburgh here and everything he’s accomplished. So, it’s really cool.”

Jagr went on to spend the first 11 seasons of his 24-year NHL career with the Penguins, appearing in 806 regular-season games and ranking top-5 in franchise history in games played (5th), goals (4th), assists (4th), points (4th), and game-winning goals (4th).

After getting traded to Washington in 2001 for what then-Penguins GM Craig Patrick called business-related reasons, Jagr remained in the NHL until 2018 before returning home to play in the Czech Extraglia, suiting up for a number of different teams. Both Mike Sullivan and Crosby faced off against Jagr at different stages of his career, and each of them marveled about how tough it was to take the puck from the 6-foot-3 forward, listed at 230 pounds.

“He’s really strong on the puck, unbelievable shot, big body, he was hard to contain,” Crosby said. “He was dangerous in a lot of different ways, but I think just his shot, his ability to hold onto the puck were probably the two things that stuck out the most.”

And to this day, so does Jagr’s famous fitness level. Kris Letang is someone who’s become known for his elite conditioning and how it seems like he can skate for days, and even he has to shake his head at how Jagr is still competing in what is the Czech Republic’s top professional league at 51 years old, as he is player/owner of his hometown Rytiri Kladno.

“It’s crazy. Especially for a guy of this size, when I played against him, he was so hard to push around. It’s just crazy that he’s still playing, right? He’s just a freak of nature,” Letang said. “I never had the chance to play with him, but I heard some stories that after games he goes out there and he does some conditioning work and stuff. So, I’m not even surprised he’s still playing.”

Letang loved watching Jagr when he was growing up, saying, “I’m not going to lie, I was wearing 68 my whole childhood, so it’s pretty cool.” And of course, Jagr’s countryman Radim Zohorna also idolized him as a kid. “He was like, the only guy, you know?” Zohorna said with a laugh. “He was a hero to every child. We know only about Jagr, so it’s a great thing for him. I think he deserves it so much. I’m happy.”

Zohorna, now 27, played parts of seven seasons in the Czech Extraliga from 2014-21, which meant he faced off against Jagr in his post-NHL career in their home country.

“He was still good. Still unbelievable. He was 47, 48 years old and dominating the game. It was unbelievable,” Zohorna said. “He’s so strong on the puck. Every rink he was playing was packed, so it was crazy, and good for hockey back home. Just unreal. Everybody wants to see him.”

That’ll certainly be the case on Feb. 18 here in Pittsburgh. As part of the ‘Celebrate 68’ festivities, all fans in attendance that night will receive a replica Jagr No. 68 banner. In addition, a commemorative Jagr bobblehead has been added as a giveaway to all fans in attendance on Thursday, March 14 versus the San Jose Sharks.

Last season, when the Penguins first debuted the ‘Robo Pen’ jerseys made famous by Lemieux and Jagr, the players wanted to do those legends proud. So, Rust and Jake Guentzel came up with the idea that whoever scored first in their game against the Sabres should do the iconic Jagr salute, which Jason Zucker was happy to do. They’ve got some time to figure out how they might want to pay homage in a few months.

“We’ll probably save the salutes and the mullets for that game. We’ll try and think of something special for then,” Rust said with a grin.

“Obviously a special player, and it's pretty cool when you get to be part of a jersey retirement,” Guentzel added. “So, it’s going to be an exciting night for all of us, and we can’t wait to see it.”