Just about everyone celebrates Valentine’s Day on February 14, but it’s time to start making February 15 an international holiday as well. Known as just another regular day to most people, February 15 is the day that Jaromir Jagr joined the world. Fast forward 45 years later and he’s still going strong in the NHL.
On Wednesday night, the Florida Panthers paid a visit to the San Jose Sharks. With Wednesday being the 15th of February, aka Jagr’s birthday, he joined a very exclusive list once the puck dropped. Playing in an NHL game on his 45th birthday, Jagr became just the fifth person in NHL history to suit up for a game at the age of 45.
The list consists of two goalies and three skaters, but two of the three skaters are two of the best forwards in the history of the game.
Gordie Howe
It’s no surprise why Gordie Howe was best-known as “Mr. Hockey”. He played his first NHL game during the 1946-47 season, and was still lacing up his skates at the highest level more than 30 years later. In his 1,767 NHL games, Howe scored 801 goals and totaled 1,850 points while accumulating 1,685 penalty minutes.
Jaromir Jagr
Jaromir Jagr is just one of three players who sits above Howe on the NHL’s all-time leading scorer’s list. Aside from his long list of accomplishments, he has another crazy stat on his resume that not many people will remember. This year, the Penguins celebrated the 25th anniversary of their Stanley Cup victory, but Jagr had to miss it because he had a game that night.
Chris Chelios
For a long time it seemed like Chris Chelios was going to play, or at least attempt to play in the NHL until he was 60. He even did something that not many veterans would do at the end of their career, and that’s spend a stint in the AHL in hopes of returning to the NHL. Chelios played 1,651 games, totaling 948 points and 2,891 penalty minutes during his career.
Johnny Bower
Johnny Bower is every Toronto Maple Leafs fans’ favourite goalie, no matter how old they are. The last NHL season Bower played in was the 1969-70 campaign, but he’s still active to this day making his rounds throughout the GTA meeting and greeting Leaf fans of all ages. He made his first NHL start with the New York Rangers during the 1953-54 season, and appeared in his final game during the 1969-70 season. He left the NHL for a few seasons to serve with the Canadian Army during World War II from 1940 to 1943.
Moe Roberts
Moe Roberts is the one name on the list that not many of today’s NHL fans are familiar with, and we can’t blame you if you’re one of them. Roberts made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins during the 1925-26 season, and would only play 10 NHL career games. However, his final appearance came with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1951-52 season when he was 45-years-old.
(H/T Twitter/StatsCentre)
