Jaromir Jagr took to the ice for the first time since turning 52 on Thursday, passing Hall of Famer Gordie Howe as the oldest professional hockey player.
Jagr plays for the Czech team Litij Kladno, which he owns and manages, and scored in a 7–2 victory over VHK Vsetin in the second leg of the play-off relegation series.
Kladno's victory gave them a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Howe was 52 years and 11 days old when he suited up for his final NHL game in 1980. He then played one shift for the International Hockey League's Detroit Vipers in 1997 at the age of 69, a record for a player who played a regular season. Shift.
Jagr, who began his NHL career with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1990-91 season, had not played since Feb. 10, five days before his 52nd birthday. Thursday was his 16th game of the season.
Jagr missed time this season due to injury. During his recovery, he returned to Pittsburgh to attend former teammate Mario Lemieux's adult fantasy camp, and his No. 68 uniform was retired by the team.
While Yargle was in Pittsburgh, the planned bobblehead night was not held because the prize package was stolen during delivery.
Jagr ranks second all-time in the NHL in points with 1,921 points and fourth all-time with 766 points. During his 24-year career in North America, he played on 9 of his teams.
Since leaving the Calgary Flames in 2018, Jagr has returned to play intermittently with Kladno.
