GENE'S BLOG: Sunday With Sixty-Eight

The first person to mention it was Louie Debrusk. As we were getting ready for the Edmonton vs. Pittsburgh broadcast, he said Jaromir Jagr was in the building. My first thought was that he was still in Steel City from his recent jersey retirement ceremony. Turns out he had gone home to Czechia and returned to Pittsburgh for the Mario Lemieux Fantasy Hockey Camp.

It's a four-day charitable event that has four teams of 16 players who get to hang out and skate with players like Jagr and normally Paul Coffey. However, Paul, as you know, is a little busy coaching with the Oilers this year. His replacement for the camp is his son Blake. He was there on Sunday and so was one-time super-agent Gus Badali. Gus is now 87 years old but at one time he had clients like Paul, Mario and a guy called Wayne, just to name a few.

In fact, I had just finished chatting with Gus when a member of our crew said Jagr was outside the Pittsburgh dressing room. I rushed over hoping to meet the legend. I have interviewed him before but never just talked to him. There he stood with Coffey, his former Penguins teammate and current Oilers leader of the defence. Really cool to see a moment between the two as they talked and joked in front of a mural of themselves.

As Paul went back to the coaches' office, I jumped in and introduced myself. Jagr replied, "I recognize that hair anywhere." Coming from him that might be one of the greatest compliments my hair or I had ever received. I felt like a little kid. I asked for a selfie, and he was happy to oblige.

I stood and chatted with him, cameraman-producer Ryan Hrycun from Oilers TV and a few people Jagr had with him. That's when I heard him say he wanted to meet Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. The day was about to get even cooler.

First there was a game to play, and right on cue as if wanting to impress his childhood idol Sidney Crosby and others like Jagr, Lemieux and dad Brian who were in the building – and likely Gretzky watching on the station he works for TNT – McDavid scored the one and only goal the team needed. The opening tally came, appropriately enough, just 68 seconds into the game.

Edmonton would add three more goals and the captain would tack on two assists to complete the four-game road trip with a 4-0 win. In fact, in 86 all-time meetings between the Oilers and Penguins, that was the first time Edmonton had shut out Pittsburgh.

It also ended up being the second shared shutout in franchise history as Calvin Pickard stopped all 41 shots but Stuart Skinner played the final 76 seconds of the middle frame after Pickard was forced into temporary concussion protocol. Legendary netminders Andy Moog and Grant Fuhr also had a shared shutout on January 8, 1985 against the Quebec Nordiques.

Once the game was over it was Jagr's turn to take his shot at meeting the dynamic duo. He waited patiently as post-game interviews were conducted, showers were taken and suits were put back on.

Assistant Coach Glen Gulutzan has history with Jagr after coaching him in both Dallas and Calgary, so he helped bring number 68 and his entourage into the Edmonton dressing room. First it was Draisaitl who came out and chatted with Jagr. They talked hockey and how it was for Jagr to play and run the Kladno team he owns. They chatted for a few minutes before McDavid joined them.

As he approached, Jagr said to the Oilers captain, "What an easy night! You score three points, you don't even sweat and then go home." He followed that up with a hearty laugh and the three chatted.

I've been lucky enough to be around some special and memorable moments and this was definitely one of them. Standing side-by-side you had a total of 3,064 games, 1,431 goals, 2,269 assists and 3,700 points. Absolutely awesome to have the second-highest scorer of all time rubbing shoulders with two superstars who are steadily climbing that list. It's crazy to think they are still 968 (Connor) and 1,095 (Leon) points away from catching Jagr, who played in the NHL until he was 45 years old.

Unbelievable what the man with the mullet accomplished. He is an all-time legend and that's what Connor and Leon are becoming. After a few minutes of chatting, having some laughs and posing for photos, off the Oilers went to hop on a bus to the airport for their flight back to Edmonton.

It was truly a day to remember on this Sunday with Sixty-Eight.