Jagr feels obligation to keep playing near age 50: 'I have no choice'

Jaromir Jagr is still playing professional hockey in the Czech Republic as he approaches his 50th birthday, but it doesn't seem to be entirely for leisure anymore.

"I have a responsibility to the club, otherwise I wouldn’t fly here, and I wouldn’t be making a fool of myself. But if I quit, the partners and sponsors would leave, and the club may be done," Jagr said, according to The Hockey News' Pavel Barta.

"I have no choice. People don’t understand it, but I don’t care. Only God will judge me. I expect much more from myself, and I also believe that I have it in me."

Jagr is the majority owner of his hometown team, Kladno, which he took over from his father in 2011. He's played for the club since leaving the NHL in 2018.

Kladno was relegated from the top Czech league following the 2019-20 campaign and played in the second-tier Chance Liga this past season. Jagr helped guide the team to a championship with 12 points in 19 games, elevating the club back up to the Czech Liga for the upcoming campaign.

With the promotion, Jagr admits he feels it's his responsibility to the fans and the club to keep playing to ensure that its popularity doesn't dwindle, even though his play is declining.

"At the same time, people still expect it from me, and that’s probably the worst feeling - when people think I can, but I know I can’t," Jagr said. "Plus, I can’t even tell them. I just know that I will do my best to help the club. I don’t know if anyone can understand my role. I don’t even want to be in such a position, but I have no choice. As long as my father breathes, I take the club as my responsibility. He held it for 20 years. As a son, I would be embarrassed if I left."

Jagr will turn 50 on Feb. 15, 2022. The right-winger started his professional hockey career with Kladno in 1988 and has been playing ever since. Jagr's appeared in 1,733 career NHL games, totaling 766 goals and 1,921 points.