Jagr talks hockey future, countryman Pastrnak in Q&A

WILLOW GROVE, Pa. -- Jaromir Jagr's one season with the Philadelphia Flyers was more than a decade ago, but it's clear fans in the region still hold the hockey legend in high regard.

More than 300 people wrapped around the concourse at Willow Grove Mall, about 30 miles north of Philadelphia, on Saturday for a chance at a photograph and autograph.

"I've been here only one season," Jagr said. "I just always said when I played here, they're very honest fans. They understand the sport. Not only hockey, but they've got American football, basketball, baseball. It's a very successful sports town. And the fans just understand the sport. They're supportive."

Jagr had 54 points (19 goals, 35 assists) in 73 games in 2011-12, and eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 11 Stanley Cup Playoff games in his one season with the Flyers. It was his return to the NHL after he had played the previous three seasons with Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League.

Prior to that, he played 17 seasons, including his first 11 (1990-2001) with the rival Pittsburgh Penguins.

During that time, he had 69 points (20 goals, 49 assists) in 50 games against the Flyers, more than any other player in the NHL.

Despite that, he still was cheered when he played for the Flyers.

"I was kind of surprised, because when I was playing in Pittsburgh, the rivalry between Pittsburgh and Philly, it was always big," Jagr said. "I got booed a lot here when I played for Pittsburgh, but when I came here and I played for the Flyers, there was a lot more love than I expected from the fans. I really enjoyed the hockey when I played here. It was a lot of good, intelligent players. We had a run. I feel like we had a good season, and I feel like we should have done a little more but it just didn't happen."

The Flyers lost to the New Jersey Devils in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and Jagr signed with the Dallas Stars for the 2012-13 season. He played in the NHL until the 2017-18 season, before he returned to play for his hometown team, Kladno, in Extraliga, the top league in Czechia.

The 54-year-old chatted with NHL.com about his interest in continuing to play, how much of the NHL he's able to watch now, and a few of the players he enjoys watching.

You played six games with Kladno this season, but the last one was Dec. 21. Are you retired?

"Not official. I didn't say that. ... It doesn't make sense to me. To practice at my age, and get ready at my age, spending so much time in my life doing this for hockey, and my ice time is like maximum 12 minutes a game, and it's the traveling and everything. At my age, it's not worth it. When you calculate the time I have to get ready for the games, if I enjoy it during the game, mathematically, it doesn't make sense to me. I still like it, but I don't know how long I'm going to be active, be able to walk and enjoy my life. I'm 54 so on my side I've got maybe 15 more years. I want to spend it the way that I want to. I'm talking about active. You can be alive until you're probably 80, if you're lucky. But I'm talking about the active life."

Living in Czechia, how much NHL are you able to watch?

"I was watching the Olympics for sure. There were a lot of guys from the NHL. The time difference is six hours so it's kind of tough to watch it at night. I don't see much besides Saturday and Sunday, when they play some afternoon games so I could see it at night.

"I saw the (Stanley Cup) Final last year, I was in Florida. So I saw the Final, and maybe I'm going to see some games, I'm going to be in Miami for a month. So I might go to see Florida."

You played for the Panthers from 2015-17, and a few of the players that were there with you are still there. How much fun is it seeing how that franchise has grown to where it won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships?

"When I got there, the young stars, like (Aleksander) Barkov and (Aaron) Ekblad were there. Then they traded for players I played with. Sam Bennett, in Calgary; we played on the same line. Matthew Tkachuk was there, he was a young guy. He was 19 years old back then. So, I played with them in Calgary (2017-18). At least I was on the same team as them. It's good to see how they've developed as players.

"When I was in Calgary, Sam Bennett, they put him in the category of a third-line, hardworking guy. He's a good hockey player, he's not just tough guy. He's a top-six guy, and I think he's even better than that. Because when I look at hockey, there's a lot of good hockey players, but the great hockey players, they can go and skate through the neutral zone with the puck under control, beat guys 1-on-1. Like (Connor) McDavid does it, those guys. He's able to do it. It's a lot of skill too. You can have the patience, you can have the skill, you can have hockey sense. He surprised a lot of people. I thought everybody wanted to put him as maybe a tough guy, third line, checking. But I think he surprised everybody."

David Pastrnak is the leading scorer among active Czechia-born NHL players. How much do you enjoy watching him play?

"He's the biggest star in Czech, him and Martin Necas, right now. He was the top hockey player for the last 10 years, Pastrnak. He won the Gold Stick, the best hockey player in Czechia, seven or eight times in a row. There was nobody even close. And he did it a different way than I did. I was more about power, he's more about skill. Very sneaky and fancy stuff. It's good to see. He's very, very smart, he's very smooth and skilled. That's what we kind of need right now in this era of hockey and NHL."

What stands out about the NHL now compared to when you played?

"There's a less physical game, more speedy, the rules have changed. There's not much defense. Everybody's saying, 'Oh, the games got a lot quicker.' I don't really agree with that. The guys who played when I played, they are just (as fast). Because is still one of the quickest guys. And don't tell me he's quicker than he was when he was 25 and he's 40. Is he quicker right now? No, he's not, but he's still one of the quickest. And I played with him when he was on top.

"The game has changed, and how it's changed, it's less physical and it's more skating. But the skating doesn't make you as tired. The hardest thing is the 1-on-1 battles on the boards. That would make you tired."

Alex Ovechkin is in the final season of his contract and there's a chance he could retire after this season. You played against him; what do you think of when his name gets mentioned? 

"To play so long and be effective for so long. Talking about a guy like Sid and him, that's a gift. People don't understand that. That's a talent. Talent to be able to adjust to a situation, adjust to the change of the game. The game is changing. The whole world is changing. The technology is changing, and you're adjusting your game. You're not the same player like you've been 20 years ago, but you're still effective. You find a way to be effective. And that's a gift. I don't think people appreciate it enough. You have to be very smart and understand that, 'OK, I'm not going to be player I was 20 years ago, but how can I be a star still?' Those guys, they do it."