Jaromir Jagr is one of the most legendary players of all time, and no one has ever made a hairstyle more iconic than he did with his famous mullet. He rocked it early in his NHL career—and, surprisingly, brought it back in his 40s as an active player. When asked why, he gave the most hilarious answer.
In an era where Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby are chasing Wayne Gretzky’s records, it’s easy to think about Jaromir Jagr. He’s a legend in his own right, but he once paused his NHL career to play three seasons with Avangard Omsk in the KHL. He later returned to North America and continued building his legacy for seven (!) more years.
To this day, Jagr still hasn’t officially retired, and his 37 professional seasons make him the longest-playing pro in hockey history. Jagr ranks second all-time in points, behind only Wayne Gretzky, and during his time with the Florida Panthers—the second-last NHL team he played for—he reached several major milestones.
Jaromir Jagr’s hilarious mullet quote
At 43 years old, Jagr passed Marcel Dionne for fourth-most goals in NHL history in 2015. Just months later, he scored his 742nd goal to surpass Brett Hull for third place. That same season, he became the sixth player in league history to record 1,100 career assists—and not long after, he claimed sole possession of second place on the all-time points list, overtaking Mark Messier. Jaromir Jagr earned huge praise for his performance with the Panthers—but he might’ve had a secret weapon up his sleeve.
When Jaromir Jagr first entered the league, his mullet became the stuff of legend. As he got older, he switched to more “normal” hairstyles—but during his Panthers era, the mullet made a glorious return. And when asked why, Jagr delivered one of the greatest quotes of all time:
“Since then I couldn’t score,” Jagr said of the time he cut off the mullet, per the Sun-Sentinel.
He even used to refer to his hair as “Samson.” In mythology, Samson was given superhuman strength—but it was tied to his hair.
“I’m not going to cut my hair, that’s all. The power of the hair is coming back. Samson is coming back. I just want to find out if it’s the hair or just me that was good.”
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