Jaromir Jagr wants to play hockey until he dies

Jaromir Jagr, 43 years old and playing for the Florida Panthers, is still in love with hockey and wants to keep playing professionally until he croaks.

Jaromir Jagr is a hockey legend if there ever was one. The winger for the Florida Panthers is fourth all-time in career points in the NHL with 1,819. He has scored 730 career goals and won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the early 1990’s. His superstar teammate was none other than Mario Lemieux.

Jagr went away from the NHL for a few years before resurfacing as a 39-year-old. Now 43, Jagr told SportsNet, “The time between when I quit hockey and I die, I want it to be the shortest. If I can play till I die, that’s what I’ll do.”

Jagr is hockey royalty and should play as long as he wants, or at least he is still effective. He made the number 68 cool, hockey hair a fabric of early 1990’s culture (the flow is slowly but surely coming back), and taught many young North Americans that yes, Czechoslovakia was a Communist country, and yes, J’s can make a Y-sound.

It’s like the NHL world gets another go-around with one of the all-time greats Gordie Howe, who was playing with the then Hartford Whalers into his early 50s. Fortunately for the NHL, Jagr is also an absolute delight on Twitter.

If Jaromir Jagr is this entertaining both on and off the ice, why would North America want him to keep playing hockey for as long as he wants to? Here’s to making it to 50 on the ice and beyond!