Pittsburgh Penguins History: Retracing Jaromir Jagr’s Path to 300 Goals

On Apr. 15, 1998, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jaromir Jagr scored career goal 300. Here is a look back at how he achieved the feat.

Not many could have predicted when Jaromir Jagr joined the Pittsburgh Penguins with the 5th pick in 1990 NHL entry draft, that he would still be an active player in 2020.

Jagr’s career has spanned 24 years with 9 teams.

While a return to the NHL appears to be a long shot in a player capacity, there is always hope that Jagr will return to the city where his illustrious career began, the city of Pittsburgh.

Condensed career stats:

• 2nd on All-Time Points List (1921)
• 3rd on All-Time Games Played List (1733)
• 8x All-Star
• 2x Stanley Cup Winner
• 3x Pearson
• 5x Art Ross
• 1 Masterson
• 1 Hart

Rookie Round-up

Jagr scored his first goal and first game-winning goal (GWG) in the second game of his career on Oct. 7. 1990, vs. New Jersey and his first multi-goal game occurred on Oct. 28, 1990, vs. New York Islanders.

Jagr scored his first hat trick scored on Feb. 2, 1991, vs. Boston, and earned four multi-goal games during the season.

Jagr finished his rookie campaign with 27 goals, with 6 goals scored on the powerplay (PP) which puts him 9th on the Penguins all-time list for most goals by a rookie. (since 1980)

Notable rookie goal totals:

• Mario Lemieux – 43
• Sidney Crosby – 39
• Evgeni Malkin – 33
• Jordan Staal – 29

Building Steam

From 1991-92 to1994-95, Jagr continued developing his skills and was part of one of the most successful eras of Penguins hockey.

Overall the team earned a record of 168-96-32 and Jagr collected another 130 goals, giving him a career total of 157 goals.

Goal Breakdown:

• 1991-92: 32 goals (4 GWG and 4 PP)
• 1992-93: 34 goals (9 GWG and 10 PP)
• 1993-94: 32 goals (6 GWG and 9 PP)
• 1994-95: 32 goals (7 GWG and 8 PP)

A Season Like No Other

In 1995-96, Jagr had the finest season of his career.

Jagr set career marks for goals (62) and points (149) and led the league in GWG (12), even-strength goals (12), and shots (403).

Typically during the 1990s,149 points would have been enough to lock up the scoring title, but Jagr finished in second place to a rejuvenated Mario Lemieux, who returned from a season-long hiatus to score 161 points.

With another 62 goals added to his career total, Jagr entered the 1996-97 season with 219 goals.

Milestone Reached

In 1996-97, Jagr scored 47 goals (11 PP and 6 GWG), the second-highest total of his career to that date.

Jagr finished the season with 266 total career goals.

The 1997-98 season saw Jagr capture his second Art Ross Trophy after he scored 102 points and led the league in assists with 67.

On Apr. 4, 1998, Jagr scored goal number 299 against Tampa Bay, and 11 days later in a 5-1 victory over Tampa (again), Jagr scored one goal and three points, to reach the 300 goal mark.

Jagr joined Lemieux as the only other player to score 300 goals with the Penguins. Crosby and Malkin have since joined the club.

What are some of your favorite Jagr memories? Drop them in the comment section below!