Jaromír Jágr recorded his first point of the 2025–26 campaign in his 38th professional season, providing an assist for Rytíři Kladno in an 8–3 defeat away to Dynamo Pardubice on Friday, 31 October.
Local reports noted that Jágr wore the captain’s “C” for Kladno. The comprehensive home victory featured eight different Pardubice scorers and left Kladno well beaten despite the 53-year-old forward’s first entry on the scoresheet this term.
The match in Pardubice formed part of the Czech Tipsport Extraliga’s 20th round ahead of an international break. Dynamo established control early, leading 3–0 within seven minutes and maintaining a decisive advantage throughout. Coverage in the Czech press highlighted the contributions of Lukáš Sedlák and Roman Červenka for the hosts, while confirming Jágr’s assist as his initial point of the season.
Jágr only recently returned to competitive action after missing the opening stretch of Kladno’s schedule. He made his season debut on 18 October in a 3–1 win over Vítkovice, having sat out the first 14 games through injury, and has been eased back into the line-up since. His decision to continue playing at 53 delays potential Hockey Hall of Fame eligibility, which requires three full seasons of retirement.
Last season, the forward appeared in 39 regular-season games for Kladno, recording 16 points (five goals, 11 assists). Those figures, compiled while sharing ice with significantly younger team-mates, underlined his continued utility in situational roles, notably on the power play. Pre-season analysis in September reiterated that 2024–25 output and suggested Kladno envisaged him in a third-line role with power-play usage this year.
The Pardubice result leaves the broader story centred on Jágr’s longevity. After first turning professional with Kladno in the late 1980s and departing for a 24-season career in the National Hockey League, he returned to his hometown club later in his career and has remained a registered player into his fifties. His NHL résumé includes 1,733 regular-season games, 766 goals and 1,155 assists, two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and five Art Ross Trophies as the league’s leading points scorer (1995, 1998–2001). He also won Olympic gold with the Czech Republic in 1998.
Organisationally, Kladno has undergone changes in the past year. In January 2025 Jágr announced the sale of an 80 per cent stake in the club to businessman Tomáš Drastil, retaining a minority interest. The transaction was presented as a move to strengthen the club’s finances, with the former player-owner remaining associated with the team on and off the ice.
His endurance continues to draw attention across the league. While individual nights such as the Pardubice game hinge on broader team dynamics—Dynamo spread their goals among multiple skaters and applied consistent pressure—each appearance extends a professional timeline unmatched in contemporary top-tier hockey. That longevity is now formally logged as a 38th season, with the present campaign already featuring a return from injury, a captain’s role on the night in Pardubice, and now a first point in the ledger.
Kladno will look to stabilise results after the heavy defeat, while managing minutes for veteran personnel in a demanding schedule. For Jágr the immediate task remains incremental: game fitness, situational usage, and occasional contributions such as Friday’s assist. His presence continues to bridge eras—linking a formative spell with Kladno in 1988, the peak years in North America, and a late-career coda back where it began. The statistical markers from his NHL career remain part of the context—fourth all-time in goals and among the leaders in points and games played—yet his current role is narrower, designed to support Kladno’s collective objectives rather than headline nightly scoring.
Whether this season proves his last or not, the immediate news is straightforward: after four outings in 2025–26, Jágr has his first point, and Kladno have work to do following a one-sided evening in Pardubice. The next fixtures will indicate whether his return can coincide with an improvement in results as the Extraliga resumes after the break.
