from Elizabeth Quinn Brown of GQ,
Jaromír Jágr, 44, was drafted at the age of 18 in 1990, an era in hockey defined by the prevalence of the mullet. Since then, he has established a career that has toured the NHL, from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Washington Capitals, the New York Rangers, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Dallas Stars, the Boston Bruins, the New Jersey Devils, and the Florida Panthers (minus his three seasons with the KHL), a "This Land Is Your Land" on ice. At some point, he decided to restyle his hair.
Jágr has evolved beyond your average star to become something of the unofficial mascot for the NHL. Sure, we can appreciate the talents of the Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin and the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, but we recognize that Jágr is different. To appreciate the sport is to appreciate its gladiator. The numbers speak volumes: Jágr has scored 742-plus career goals (he is third after Wayne Gretzky, 894, and Gordie Howe, 801, surpassing Brett Hull, 741, on February 20, 2016). And he's at the point in his career where ovations on the road are regular, as evidenced at Madison Square Garden on Monday. He’s humble about all the applause, yet superstitious: “I like to have them at home, but on the road, of course it’s special. But every time I hear [cheering] on the road, I sort of have bad luck, so I don’t like to hear it.” (The Rangers beat the Panthers, 4–2.)
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