Jaromir Jagr on Sidney Crosby: 'He can play for another 5 or 6 years'

When it comes to hockey longevity, few can rival Jaromir Jagr. He is 52 and still playing in his seventh post-NHL season with Kladno for his own team in Czechia.

That’s on top of playing at least part of 24 seasons in the NHL and four other full seasons in the KHL and the Czech League in the mid-’90s and early 2000s.

If anyone knows what it takes to keep playing for a long time, it’s him. So does Jagr think Penguins captain Sidney Crosby can do something similar and at least play into his 40s at the NHL level as he did?

“The game has gotten a little bit quicker (since Crosby was drafted in 2005). But he’s adapted very well,” Jagr said Sunday. “He’s probably had one of the best seasons he’s (ever) had. I’m happy for him, and I think he can play for another five or six years if he really wanted to. Sid is the guy who wants to be the best. He is always the guy who wants to be tomorrow, better than he is today. That’s what you need if you want to play long.”

Jagr is right in the sense that, at age 36, Crosby is having one of his best years. He already has 31 goals (on a team that is otherwise struggling to score). Should the Pens’ captain get to 40 goals, it’d be the first time since 2017 that Crosby will have hit that milestone and just the third time in his career. He’s gotten to 50 goals once. That’s when he hit a career high of 51 in 2009-10.

“He’s putting a little pressure on me there,” Crosby joked when told of Jagr’s quote. “You have to love the game and put a lot into it in order to do that. He’s a great example of it. There’s been guys who have done it in the past. It takes a lot. It’s not easy, but if I’m fortunate enough to play that long, that’d be amazing.”

To add some context to Jagr’s theory, six years from now, Crosby will end his 25th NHL season at age 42. By comparison, at 42, Jagr had also played 25 pro seasons since being drafted, 21 primarily in the NHL and four primarily overseas.

In his age-43 season (2015-16), Jagr posted 27 goals and 66 points in 79 games with the Florida Panthers. That point total would have ranked Jagr fourth on last year’s Penguins team.

Jagr played in the NHL until he was 45 with the Calgary Flames in 2018.

“I don’t know if I ever really looked that far ahead,” Crosby said. “I was fortunate to have guys when I was young that were at that age and playing really well, and you didn’t really think anything of it. I probably didn’t appreciate it until you get close to that age, (then) you realize how difficult it is. You gain an appreciation as you get older.”

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To Crosby’s point, in his rookie season, the 2005-06 Penguins sported the likes of Hall of Famers Mario Lemieux at 40 and Mark Recchi at 37. Lyle Odelein (37), Steve Poapst (37) and five-time All-Star John LeClair (36) were also on that team.

Not to mention, Crosby was eventually in the same locker room with Gary Roberts when he was 40, Bill Guerin when he was 38, and Matt Cullen when he was as old as 42.

So Crosby has seen what it takes from players to compete, be impactful and even win Stanley Cups into their 40s.

“If you’re asking me, do I think he’s capable? The answer is, ‘yes,’” Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said Sunday. “He’s talented. He’s one of the greatest players of all time, but his work ethic is unmatched by anyone that I’ve ever seen. Because of that, I think he’ll play for as long as he wants to. He’s such a driven athlete; as long as he continues to love the game and play with the passion that he plays with, I think he’ll play for as long as he wants.”

Crosby’s long-time Penguins teammates, Kris Letang (36) and Evgeni Malkin (37) are also at that point in their careers where they are likely wondering how close to 40 — or how deep into their 40s — they want to remain active.

Letang’s current contract will expire at the end of the 2027-28 season. He turns 41 in April 2028. Malkin will turn 39 as his current contract expires at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.

“I want to play as long as I can. That’s for sure,” Letang said Monday. “But you look at what (Jagr) does off the ice to push the limit and how he carries himself on and off the ice. He stays after games to skate and work on different things. It’s crazy that he’s still playing at this level.”

Maybe forecasting another contract at 41 is too much of an ask, even for a workout warrior such as Letang. Maybe even an all-consuming hockey Pac-Man like Crosby will gobble up his fill before he gets to 45 like Jagr.

Or maybe they’ll hook up with Malkin in Kladno for a few years and jump on a power play unit with Jagr before he turns 60.

Are you ruling it out?

Listen: Tim Benz on Jaromir Jagr’s jersey retirement