So last night, Jaromir Jagr continued to sip from the fountain of youth which he obviously has in his house, as he scored a pretty game winning goal in overtime to help his offensively challenged New Jersey Devils defeat the LA Kings. I believe this brings his goal tally for this season to 9, but more importantly, gives him 690 career goals, tying him with long time teammate Mario Lemieux for ninth on the all time goal scoring list with 690. Looming on the horizon is Steve Yzerman at 692 and Mark Messier at 694, both of whom are clearly within range to catch and surpass this season.
Barring injury, Jaromir Jagr will be seventh on the all time scoring list before he hangs up the skates, and he is standing shoulder to shoulder with some pretty elite company: Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Brett Hull, Marcel Dionne, Phil Esposito, and Mike Gartner will be the only guys to light the lamp more frequently than Jagr. Combine this with a couple of Stanley Cups and plenty of other accolades, and consider that he spent three years in the KHL which could have been spent in the NHL which would have allowed him to further pad his already impressive stats, and one has to feel that Jaromir Jagr is one of the most skilled offensive players in NHL history.
Yet I feel he doesn't always get the credit he deserves, possibly because he played along side Mario Lemieux for years and inevitably stood in his impressive shadow (possibly because Lemieux compiled similar number in 500 fewer games while battling chronic back issues and a little disease known as cancer). Much like Mike Gartner, if you ask a casual fan to discuss all time greats, I'm not sure Jagr's name comes to the mind of everyone, yet it should. People will think of Mike Bossy, Guy Lafleur, Rocket Richard and others whose stats pale in comparison to #68.
So what do you say, fellow NHL fans? Is Jaromir Jagr truly one of the all time greats in NHL history who is largely underrated and under appreciated? Does he get the credit he truly deserves? Or when push comes to shove, is he simply not one of the true elite players in the history of the NHL?
Barring injury, Jaromir Jagr will be seventh on the all time scoring list before he hangs up the skates, and he is standing shoulder to shoulder with some pretty elite company: Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Brett Hull, Marcel Dionne, Phil Esposito, and Mike Gartner will be the only guys to light the lamp more frequently than Jagr. Combine this with a couple of Stanley Cups and plenty of other accolades, and consider that he spent three years in the KHL which could have been spent in the NHL which would have allowed him to further pad his already impressive stats, and one has to feel that Jaromir Jagr is one of the most skilled offensive players in NHL history.
Yet I feel he doesn't always get the credit he deserves, possibly because he played along side Mario Lemieux for years and inevitably stood in his impressive shadow (possibly because Lemieux compiled similar number in 500 fewer games while battling chronic back issues and a little disease known as cancer). Much like Mike Gartner, if you ask a casual fan to discuss all time greats, I'm not sure Jagr's name comes to the mind of everyone, yet it should. People will think of Mike Bossy, Guy Lafleur, Rocket Richard and others whose stats pale in comparison to #68.
So what do you say, fellow NHL fans? Is Jaromir Jagr truly one of the all time greats in NHL history who is largely underrated and under appreciated? Does he get the credit he truly deserves? Or when push comes to shove, is he simply not one of the true elite players in the history of the NHL?
