Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan – The 600-Goal Club

Entering the 2025-26 season, 21 players in NHL history have scored at least 600 career goals. There has only been one instance, however, when two teammates reached the milestone in the same season, and that occurred during the 2006-07 season when Brendan Shanahan and Jaromir Jagr each accomplished the feat with the Rangers.

Although their styles of play were different – Shanahan’s combination of skill and physical play made him a premier power forward in the league, while Jagr primarily used his size and reach to ward defenders off him – they each possessed an elite shot that was difficult for NHL goaltenders to stop for more than two decades. And those attributes were on display during each player’s tenure in New York.

Optimism was high for the Rangers entering the 2006-07 season. The year prior, Jagr established single-season franchise records with 54 goals and 123 points – winning the Lester B. Pearson Award as the most outstanding player as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA – and led the Rangers to the playoffs. Hoping to build on the foundation they established in 2005-06, the Blueshirts signed Shanahan as a free agent on July 9, 2006. Even though Shanahan was 37 years old, he had scored 40 goals and registered 105 penalty minutes with the Detroit Red Wings in 2005-06. He was the only player in the league to record both 40 or more goals and 100 or more penalty minutes that year, and he was not showing any signs of slowing down.

And the first game that Jagr and Shanahan were teammates with the Rangers turned out to a memorable one for each of them.

During player introductions prior to the Rangers’ 2006-07 season opener on October 5, 2006, against the Washington Capitals at MSG, Jagr was introduced as the 24^th captain in franchise history (the Rangers did not have a captain during the 2005-06 season). After skating out to a rousing ovation and chants of “MVP!” from The Garden Faithful, Jagr proceeded to score a goal 29 seconds into the game to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.

Then, Shanahan made his Rangers debut a milestone evening. Late in the second period, he scored on a breakaway to give the Blueshirts a 3-1 lead. The goal was the 599^th of Shanahan’s NHL career. Early in the third period, Shanahan then scored his 600^th career NHL goal on a rebound chance. The legendary forward reached the milestone in the same building where he scored his first NHL goal as a member of the New Jersey Devils nearly two decades prior, but in accomplishing this extraordinary feat wearing a Rangers uniform at MSG, Shanahan felt at home at The Garden.

“I’m usually not very good with change,” Shanahan said later that season when reflecting on the milestone and the start of his Rangers tenure. “The other times when I have changed teams, it has taken me six or seven games (to get adjusted). Maybe it was just that first night – the way the fans greeted me and that I was able to get my 600^th goal and how the fans then gave me more of a reception (than I thought I would get).

“There was just something about that opening night that made me feel I was home. There was just something about coming to New York and then something about coming to Madison Square Garden where I felt instantly welcomed and comfortable.”

Boosted by that opening night performance, Shanahan tallied a point in 20 of his first 22 games as a Ranger, tallying 17 goals and 11 assists over the span. After the Rangers’ 22^nd game of the season on November 21, 2006, Shanahan’s 17 goals were the most in the NHL. Simultaneously, Jagr’s 34 points at that time were the most in the NHL, and he also had his share of milestone moments to begin the season.

Less than two minutes into a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on November 19, 2006, at MSG, Jagr scored on a rebound chance in front of the net to register his 600^th career NHL goal. Two nights later, he scored two more goals in a win over the Carolina Hurricanes at MSG, and by tallying his 602^nd career NHL goal, Jagr passed Jari Kurri to become the NHL’s all-time leader in goals by a European-born-and-trained player.

A month after Jagr reached the milestone, the Rangers held a pre-game ceremony to recognize both him and Shanahan for the remarkable feat they had achieved. The festivities brought together some of the most important people in each of their lives, both personally and professionally. Shanahan was joined by his family and longtime Red Wings teammate Steve Yzerman, who had also reached the 600-goal milestone in his NHL career. Jagr was joined by his family and longtime Penguins teammate Mario Lemieux, who was also a member of the 600-goal club. Another legendary player who scored more than 600 goals in his NHL career, Mark Messier, then came onto the ice to present Jagr and Shanahan with engraved silver sticks on behalf of the Rangers organization, as nearly one-third of the players who had scored more than 600 goals in NHL history at the time were all on the ice at the same time.

The notable moments that Jagr and Shanahan created for the Rangers and their fans were not limited to milestones. One such moment occurred on November 14, 2006, against New Jersey at MSG. Although the Rangers trailed 2-0 entering the third period, Jagr scored two goals in a span of 26 seconds to tie the game. Then, while MSG public address announcer Joe Tolleson was in the middle of announcing the scoring of Jagr’s second goal, Shanahan scored on a partial breakaway to put the Rangers ahead and send The Garden Faithful into a frenzy. The three goals in a span of 90 seconds led to a 3-2 victory and one of the Blueshirts’ most memorable wins of the season.

Another memorable event occurred in the final game of the 2006 calendar year between the Rangers and Capitals at MSG. After Capitals forward Donald Brashear – one of the toughest players in the NHL – hit Jagr numerous times throughout the game, Shanahan challenged Brashear to a fight in the third period. Through his willingness to fight Brashear, Shanahan only gained more respect from his teammates and Rangers fans.

As Joe Micheletti, the Rangers’ TV analyst on MSG Network, said while the fight was taking place, “(Shanahan) does everything. He stands up for his teammates. If you wonder why New York fans are in love with him, (this is it). This is the way he has been through his career.”

“I thought that (Brashear) had taken liberties with Jags most of the night,” Shanahan said after the game. “I asked him if he wanted to go after the faceoff. I thought he was taking advantage of Jags, and sometimes you just have to make a statement.”

A month later, Shanahan was selected to play in the 2007 NHL All-Star Game and served as the captain of the Eastern Conference team. An inadvertent collision between Shanahan and the Philadelphia Flyers’ Mike Knuble on February 17, 2007, at MSG led to a concussion and his absence from the lineup (Shanahan had to be stretchered off the ice and said days later that the first thing he remembered hearing was Rangers fans chanting his name).

Despite missing that time, Shanahan still scored 29 goals and tallied 62 points in 67 games in 2006-07, and he was named the winner of the Players’ Player Award that season. Jagr, meanwhile, led the Rangers with 96 points during the season to finish among the top ten players in the NHL in points. After helping the Rangers advance to the playoffs, Jagr and Shanahan each scored five goals in 10 playoff contests, and in the process, led the Rangers to their first playoff series victory in a decade.

Over 100 years, several of the most prolific scorers in NHL history have worn a Blueshirts sweater. During the 2006-07 season, the Rangers and their fans had the good fortune of having Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan showcase their brilliance on Garden ice and accomplish a feat that no other pair of teammates has ever done