jagr-kladno

Jaromir Jagr began his 36th professional hockey season Wednesday, picking up an assist for Kladno in a 4-3 loss to Pardubice.

The 51-year-old, who is the majority owner of the team that plays in the top league in the Czech Republic, played 13:52 of ice that included a nifty cross-ice feed to Jakub Strnad at 4:55 of the second period.

It was the first of three straight goals for Kladno against Pardubice that tied the game after it trailed 3-0, but Matej Paulovic scored the game-winner in Pardubice's 4-3 victory at 17:38 of the second.

Kladno (7-13-6) is 13th of 14 teams in the league. Pardubice (22-3-4) is first.

Jagr began his professional career with Kladno, his hometown team, in 1988-89, and has been the majority owner since 2011. After playing 24 NHL seasons with nine teams between 1990 and 2018, Jagr returned to Kladno after leaving the Calgary Flames during the 2017-18 season.

Last season, he had 14 points (five goals, nine assists) while playing 26 of Kladno's 52 games.

Jagr is second in NHL history with 1,921 points (766 goals, 1,155 assists) in 1,733 games. He's fourth all-time in games played and goals, and fifth in assists.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will retire his No. 68 jersey on Feb. 18. The Penguins selected him with the No. 5 pick of the 1990 NHL Draft, and he helped them win the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992.