‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 68: Penguins’ Jaromir Jagr among the best of all time

The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best 100 players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number.

No. 68: Jaromir Jagr

There are too many ways to recognize Jaromir Jagr’s place among hockey’s all-time greats, from the five scoring titles (only Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux have more) to the 766 goals (only Gretzky and Howe have more) to the 1,921 points (topped only by Gretzky). He was named by the Hockey News as one of the NHL’s top 50 players of all-time — in 1997, still at age 25 and with another two decades of play yet to come.

With all due respect to four-time Super Bowl-winning Steel Curtain mainstay L.C. Greenwood, Jagr’s credentials made him a shoo-in as the greatest to wear No. 68 for a Pittsburgh team as judged by the Tribune-Review.

The only conceivable case to be made against Jagr was his departure from the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2001 and hot-and-cold relationship with the organization and its fans thereafter.

Jagr infamously said he felt as if he was “dying alive” during a 2000-01 season in which his mentor, Lemieux, came out of retirement. Jagr’s salary and the Penguins’ financial constraints at the time made it prohibitive to keep him after they lost in the 2001 Eastern Conference finals.

After 439 goals, 640 assists and 1,079 points in 11 seasons with the Penguins, Jagr add ed 327 goals, 515 assists and 842 points over parts of 13 other seasons for eight other teams — including the Penguins’ biggest rivals (the Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers).

It was his signing with that latter team, in 2011, that irked Penguins fans most. It followed three seasons that Jagr played professionally in Russia and came amid a flirtation with the Penguins.

.@TimBenzPgh and @SethRorabaugh discuss the Penguins’ trip west, as well as the AHL Pens, and who will have the better #Penguins career: Malkin or Jagr? https://t.co/KbfLwV5VVD

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) December 19, 2019

Still, by now, it seems all is forgiven. And even for a franchise blessed with an overabundance of generational talents, Jagr still easily sits among the top four — and, in many cases, higher — of every relevant statistical career offensive category.

Greenwood was a six-time Pro Bowl honoree who twice was named All-Pro. He is part of the NFL’s 1970s all-decade team and the Steelers’ all-time team. After making the list of finalists six times, Greenwood remains a candidate for induction to the Hall of Fame.