Tim Benz: Emotions surrounding Jaromir Jagr's jersey retirement were as unique as the player himself

In most situations, the jersey retirement process is a pretty easy one. By the very nature of the honor, the presumption is that whoever is getting their jersey retired in whatever city they used to call home is probably so beloved by the fans that the organization and the player can’t wait to do it.

The player walks out. The jersey is hoisted. Everybody cheers. A few tears are shed.

68 goes up pic.twitter.com/eokwA9dMtU

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) February 18, 2024

However, usually, the player in question doesn’t leave that town in a somewhat messy trade. Usually, an attempt at a prodigal homecoming a decade later doesn’t come up short at the last minute, and result in a similar acrimony with the fan base. Usually, the player isn’t still playing in a different country into their 50s, a full 23 years after their initial departure.

Usually, a player whose jersey is being retired in a building hasn’t been raucously booed in that building wearing many other jerseys.

But those were the circumstances of the Penguins’ jersey retirement for Jaromir Jagr on Sunday at PPG Paints Arena. Nearly a quarter century after a grumpy end to his Penguins career and almost 13 years after a high profile flirtation with a return that wound up with him signing with the archrival Philadelphia Flyers instead, No. 68 went to the rafters.

When emotions have been as raw as they have over the years between a player, the organization and the fan base, they tend to be even more at the surface when all those wounds have been closed and all those missteps have been mutually brushed aside.

That’s what happened in Pittsburgh on Sunday.

That’s why Jagr’s jersey retirement took on much more of a different tone than the usual festivities for that honor that we see across sports. The emotions were greater because, at times over the decades, those emotions were conflicted.

At first, it was mutual adoration. That gave way to tension and some discord. Then, a period of missing one another, to the point of getting reunited.

“Hopefully, one day … Well, it’s already happened. We’ve crossed again. And we’re here today,” Jagr told the media Sunday afternoon.

It didn’t just feel like a jersey retirement. It felt like we were all invited to a wedding.

OK, a second marriage, but a wedding nonetheless. How about a renewal of vows?

More sports

• Madden Monday: Penguins' loss 'signs Jake Guentzel's exit papers,' Diontae Johnson's 'future is in doubt' with Steelers
• What they're saying about Jaromir Jagr's jersey retirement
• First Call: Source claims some Steelers don't want 'preferred chance' for Kenny Pickett; Jaromir Jagr's one-liner wins crowd

The pomp and circumstance of No. 68 going to the rafters was one thing. But that actual act of why we were all there seemed secondary.

Jagr standing at the podium was the real moment. Jagr hearing his name chanted in retirement (well, NHL retirement anyway) the same way it was by many of those same people during his playing days was the more important part.

For him and for the people cheering.

It was nice for that to be allowed again. It was nice to see all of Jagr’s highlight reel goals and Stanley Cup celebrations and post-scoring salutes thrown together in a montage on the video board for everyone to cheer, as opposed to memories you may have felt torn about having as he skated on that same ice as a Flyer, Ranger, Bruin or Capital.

Because that was part of it. It’s not just that Jagr left Pittsburgh in a trade he orginially asked for; it’s that he ended up in Washington. It’s that he went to Philly in 2011 and beat the Pens in one of the nastiest playoff series in franchise history (2012). It’s that he helped sweep the Pens with the Bruins in 2013’s Eastern Conference Final.

Jagr admitted to the media he wasn’t entirely sure what it was going to be like to hear himself warmly greeted again in Pittsburgh, even though some of the icy tensions had melted a bit in recent years — like in 2017 when the franchise honored him for making the NHL’s top 100 during a game between the Pens and his Florida Panthers. As recently as Sunday afternoon, Jagr seemed a bit unsure of what to expect from the crowd.

“I’ve heard a lot of boos lately,” Jagr said with a laugh before the ceremony. “It’s understandable. I played for different teams.”

It never felt good to feel anything but great about having Jagr be a part of the Penguins’ legacy. Unfortunately, that dynamic existed for a while.

On Sunday, though, all that push-and-pull went away. The only pulling that was going on was Jagr, the fanbase and the franchise all pulling in toward each other again.

“It’s an extra bonus,” Jagr said of the positive crowd response. “You play the game with love. You play to make (people) happy. When you do your job you love to do, then you see the appreciation from the people; that’s something.”

Sunday certainly was “something” for every Penguins fan who watched Jagr play. Something no one will ever forget. Something powerful enough to maybe make us forget that the rough times ever existed.

“My first coach, Bob Johnson, always said, ‘Today is a great day for hockey,’” Jagr recalled during his speech to the crowd. “I’m going to use it, and I’m going to change it a little bit.

“I’m going to say today is a great day for me.”

“Today is a great day for hockey… today is great day for me.” pic.twitter.com/NvQCoIeHPe

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) February 18, 2024

It was for everyone else who was there as well.

Listen: Tim Benz on Jaromir Jagr’s jersey retirement