When it comes to hockey legends, few names carry a bigger aura than Jaromir Jagr. Still playing back home in Czechia at age 53, no one in the world has played more hockey games than “Jags.” Known as a funny and slightly quirky character, Jagr made an impression on everyone he met. The stories surrounding him are too many to count, but one story really stuck with former Penguins teammate Paul Stanton — the time he found Jagr in the cockpit, flying an airplane after winning the Stanley Cup.
Jaromir Jagr made his NHL debut during the 1990–1991 season and was part of the Pittsburgh Penguins team that finally ended the Edmonton Oilers’ dynasty from the 1980s. Tallying 57 points in 80 regular-season games and another 13 points in 24 postseason games, Jagr was a big part of the Penguins’ first-ever Stanley Cup win. The Penguins clinched the Cup with an 8–0 win in Game 6 in Minnesota against the North Stars, where Jagr recorded an assist. But the game itself wasn’t what Jagr’s former teammate Paul Stanton remembers most.
Penguins celebrate Stanley Cup win
Stanton, a defenseman who played five seasons in the NHL and won two Stanley Cups with the Penguins, remembers how Jaromir Jagr didn’t really drink.
“I was drinking. All the guys were drinking and partying on the plane. Jags just didn’t drink. I think he had a little bit of champagne in the locker room when we were drinking out of the Cup, but that’s it. So, we’re all drinking on the plane with our wives and girlfriends, and I look around and can’t find Jags. I ask nobody in particular, ‘Where’s Jags?’ And one of the flight attendants says, ‘Oh, he’s flying the plane.’ I don’t remember what I said. But it took a minute or so to process,” Stanton told The Athletic in 2024.
Jaromir Jagr flew an airplane
Confused, Stanton walked up to the cockpit and knocked on the door. There he found the flight captain in the second seat. In the captain’s chair was Jaromir Jagr, smiling at his teammate.
“I’m thinking he’s probably just sitting there and the guy in the cockpit — the actual captain — is doing the flying. But no, he was in the seat where the pilot should be. He actually turned the plane. There was a dial, and I heard the pilot say to him that if he turned the dial, the plane would turn. So Jags did, and the plane turned a little bit. I knew I’d had too much to drink at that point,” Stanton recalls.
Jagr and the actual pilot managed to land the plane safely, and the celebrations continued. Not too bad for a rookie!
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