No Formal Announcements, But...

Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying that there are two certainties in life: death and taxes. And while that may be true for most people on the planet, hockey fans always had a third certainty that they could rely on every September as Jaromir Jagr took the ice for a professional hockey team somewhere on the planet. The 54 year-old only played six games for the Kladno Knights last season, and it would mark the first time he hasn't skated in a professional league in 38 years if he didn't sign with a team for this season. As it stands right now, that hasn't happened.

Jagr's season last year didn't go as planned as he was injured to start the season and never really found his stride. He didn't dress for any of Kladno's playoff games, and he often was bumped from the lineup in favour of younger, faster players who would skate more than eight minutes per night. Jagr's one assist may have been his last professional point after he didn't sign with Kladno this season nor did he skate in training camp or any of the team's preseason games.

Of course, no one really knows what Jagr may be planning regarding his hockey future after commenting in February that "[i]t would have to be a miracle" for him to play this season, but he has yet to make any formal announcement about stepping away from the game. We know he sold the majority stake in the Kladno Knights in 2025, and new owner Tomáš Drastil began to overhaul and upgrade the players he had on his roster. While Jagr still sold tickets, Drastil was looking to trasform the Kladno Knights into the powerhouse they once were.

At 54, Jagr literally owes no one anything when it comes to his hockey career. He won Stanley Cups, an Olympic gold medal, World Championship gold medals, and a myriad of personal awards that would fill a wing at the Hockey Hall of Fame. He played in the NHL, the KHL, the Czech Extraliga, the Italian-A League, and the first-division German league in his career, representing 14 different teams. He is, and likely always will be, the highest scoring Czech player in NHL history and sits second all-time in NHL scoring. Sidney Crosby is the closest active player, and he's still 160 points back of Jagr!

I mention this today because the NHL preseason is ending for most teams, and it's hard to imagine a hockey world where Jaromir Jagr isn't playing after skating for 38 seasons. He did tell The Associated Press's Karel Janicek in February, "I don’t train to be ready to play, but I try to go skating every day if I have time," but it's not like he's preparing his body for another season of professional hockey.

As of right now, the Kladno Knights don't have Jagr on their roster page nor am I expecting him to appear there unless there's a rash of injuries in a short period of time. It's kind of crazy to think that Jagr, who skated for Kladno in parts of 13 seasons, has never skated in the playoffs for his hometown team, but that may be how his career ends if he's not on the roster this season. For the record, Kladno isn't expected to win the Extraliga, but it would have been nice to see Jagr skate once in those playoffs for the team he grew up watching.

I think, at this point, it's safe to say that Jaromir Jagr has retired from hockey. That's an unofficial stance by this writer, but telling Janicek in February that "I do nothing else but eat and watch TV" would indicate that the hockey legend's career might have come to a close. Hockey will press on without one of the game's most notable legends, but it's hard to believe that the Jaromir Jagr era is over.

Like that picture of him in the bubble bath, though, he's earned all the time to relax that he wants as long as he doesn't change his mind!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!