Jaromir Jagr Makes History

Jaromir Jagr is the third best forward in hockey history. Repeat that statement in parts of Canada or Michigan or Connecticut (or Western Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., for that matter) and expect a pretty negative response. As Jagr, who was traded to the Florida Panthers before the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline, continues to amass goals and points and play at a high level despite being 43 years old, his place in hockey history is starting to come more into focus. Jagr is by no means the third most iconic forward. He's certainly not the third most popular. Critics of the statement above will immediately turn to words like leadership and toughness to try and prove it wrong. That's OK, but Jagr's ability to dominate during his prime, which happened to be one of the toughest eras in the history of the NHL to produce offense, along with his excellence well into his 40s is why he deserves to be considered the best forward not named Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux. Jagr in his prime was an incredible medley of skill and power. He used his incredible core- and lower-body strength to protect the puck better than any forward in the history of the game, warding off defenders to make highlight-reel plays. Even in 2015, when he's one of the oldest players to ever play in the NHL, few in the League can work with the puck along the wall or with a defender snugly marking them like Jagr. He's been an incredible puck possession player in the past few seasons, and if that data was available from earlier in his career, Jagr's brilliance would be even more revered.

He's on pace to miss five games or fewer for the 15th time in his 21 NHL seasons. Given how physical the game was during his prime, his durability should be feted as a sign of his toughness. The way his old mentor Lemieux was physically defended is always part of the Mario vs. Wayne debate, and it was the same for the best players of the late '90s and early '00s as well. Watch highlights from the late 1990s (when Jagr had his best years at Pittsburgh). Trying to score goals then was a far more difficult task than it is now. Jagr was hooked and held and cross-checked (even in open play, let alone in the most contested areas of the ice) far more than players who played a generation before him or the ones who have reached the NHL since the rules changes at the start of the 2005-06 season. The other players who would be in this discussion played all or the majority of their careers before goaltending took an exponential leap forward, before every team in the NHL deployed rigid defensive systems and used video, meticulous scouting and now analytical data to try and keep players like Jagr from producing goals. That is part of why it is so hard to compare across different eras in hockey. Baseball has remained largely the same game since certain points in its history, but hockey has gone through drastic evolutions. One rudimentary way is to try and normalize the League average for offense. During Jagr's 21 NHL seasons, each team has averaged 2.92 goals per game (that's the average of 21 seasons of averages). Teams scored at much higher rate early in Jagr's career, so if we took out his first two seasons before he became a dominant player, that number dips to 2.86.

Player	NHL goals/game	NHL points/game	TOTAL GP*	TOTAL goals	TOTAL points
Jaromir Jagr	0.47	1.17	1863	867	2132
Gordie Howe	0.45	1.05	2186	975	2358
Mark Messier	0.40	1.07	1808	695	1898
Maurice Richard	0.56	0.99	978	544	965
Bobby Hull	0.57	1.10	1474	913	1808
Player	Stanley Cup	Hart Trophy	Ross Trophy	Richard Trophy**	NHL All-Star Team***
Jaromir Jagr	2	1	5	0	7
Gordie Howe	4	6	6	5	12
Mark Messier	6	2	0	0	4
Maurice Richard	8	1	0	5	8
Bobby Hull	1	2	3	7	10
*Games played in the NHL, WHA or first division in a European country **League leaders in goals (before the Richard Trophy as well) *** NHL First Team All-Star

NHL teams scored 2.85 goals per game during Gordie Howe's 26 NHL seasons. He has 84 more goals and 64 more points than Jagr, but has also played 234 more games. NHL teams scored 3.36 goals per game in Mark Messier's 24 NHL seasons. Teams scored 15.9 percent more goals in Messier's first 21 seasons (3.47 per) than in Jagr's 21. If Jagr collected points at the same rate, but played in the 21 seasons Messier did, he'd have 284 more points, far more than the 99 he needs to pass Messier for second all-time. None of this includes the three seasons Jagr spent playing in the Kontinental Hockey League. Or the nearly two full seasons he missed because of lockouts. Or his international resume. Players like Howe, Maurice Richard and Jean Beliveau are icons of sport, not just hockey. Messier is considered one of the greatest leaders in any sport. Others like Bobby Hull, Steve Yzerman, and multiple Russians who spent most or all of their careers away from the NHL also deserve to be part of this debate.
Jagr is not universally beloved. He should be universally respected for being one of the greatest players of all time. Third best, among forwards, seems about right.