Tonight, the Capitals will match up against the Calgary Flames for the second time this season. The game will be the first time that NHL legend Jaromir Jagr plays against the Capitals as a Flame.
Known for his mullet and being one of the highest point producers of all time, the 45-year-old winger is playing his 23rd season in the NHL, in an insane career spanning nine teams and 27 years. In that time, he’s registered 1,914 points, putting him only second to Wayne Gretzky in all-time NHL scoring.
Right now you’re probably thinking to yourself “Wow, that’s pretty impressive. That guy is really old for an NHL player.” Well, get ready for your mind to absolutely explode.
NowThis, a popular digital news organization known for its short and informative videos on social media, published a video contextualizing just how old Jagr is for a professional hockey player.
Among other crazy facts, the video explains that at that time of Jagr’s debut on October 5th, 1990, the Berlin Wall’s demolition had only recently begun, Papa Bush was still in office, and gas was only a blessed $1.32 a gallon.
The craziest thing illuminated in the video, however, is that when Jagr made his debut, 402 current NHL players hadn’t even been born yet. That’s over half of the league, and is absolutely insane. It also explains why sharing the ice with Jagr is something that’s so special for so many of the league’s players today, as Isabelle Khurshudyan pointed out in a recent article for the Washington Post.
“I think everyone looks forward to playing him, even if you’ve played against him 20 times,” TJ Oshie said, as reported by Khurshudyan. “I think it’s still cool seeing him out there because he’s one of the greatest of all time.”
Czech forward Jakub Vrana will likely be the most excited to play against his fellow countryman for the first time tonight. When 21-year-old Vrana was born, Jagr had already spent five seasons in the NHL.
Headline photo: Joel Auerbach
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