KREJCI VIEWS AGELESS JAGR AS AN ANOMALY
We wondered whether the remarkable longevity of Jaromir Jagr, the Florida Panthers winger who will turn 45 next month, is going to inspire a slew of NHLers present and future to look at their career life expectancy differently and stick around to play into their 40s?
Nope, said Bruins forward and fellow Czech David Krejci.
“He’s one of a kind,” Krejci said. “We can’t really put Jags in the same category as everybody else. He’s a totally different category.”
Jagr entered the weekend with 7-18-25 totals and a plus-4 in 43 games. He’s set to be an UFA, and it seems very possible he’ll be signed by Florida or some other NHL club that believes he’ll still be a useful performer at age 46.
“I think he’s one of the few players who can do this,” Krejci said. “Especially the last few years you can see the game changing. There are lots of younger guys, lots of speed. He’s one of the few players who can still play in his late 30s, let alone his 40s. It’s pretty impressive.” How is it possible? “He loves the game, and also injuries are a big part of it,” Krejci said. “Players get injured all the time, but he’s been fortunate enough to get through so many years without many injuries. He’s a big guy. I think he’s still one of the hardest guys to defend. When he’s got the puck on his stick, he’s got the long reach and he’s got that big butt. He can protect the puck really well. And he’s still got the vision and thinking the game as well as anyone in the league.”
Krejci grew up as a big Jagr fan, and making the NHL (in 2007) and getting to play against him was a special thrill.
“He was 34 or so, and I thought, ‘OK, I might have one, two, three years to play against him, and that’ll be it. He’ll be done.’ But 10 years later he’s still going strong.”