Getty Jaromir Jagr's jersey retirement, Pittsburgh Penguins
Add cargo theft to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ growing list of woes this season.
The Penguins announced that the shipment carrying thousands of Jaromir Jagr bobbleheads, the promotional giveaway for their March 14 home game against the San Jose Sharks, has been stolen after it arrived in California.
The team’s X post has since gone viral, reaching over 13 million people since 9:05 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday.
The Great Jagr Bobblehead Heist of 2024. 😳
“We were shocked to be a victim of cargo theft, and we are working closely with local and federal authorities on the investigation,” Penguins President of Business Operations Kevin Acklin said in a statement. “While this unfortunate incident adds to the legend of Jaromir Jagr, who will be in attendance as our guest at tonight’s game, we look forward to resolving this theft and delivering the prized Jagr bobbleheads to their rightful homes, with our fans.”
The team said in the statement that all fans in attendance would receive a voucher that includes a one-time scannable barcode to get the bobblehead at a later date “when the items are safely located or new bobbleheads are produced and available for distribution.”
Acklin later wrote in a post on X, “When your real life job reads like an article in The Onion. The legend of [Jagr] continues.”
Jagr Vows to Help Penguins Find Stolen Bobbleheads
Hours after the Penguins announced that the bobbleheads had gone missing, they released a video of Jagr himself taking matters into his own hands.
The video shows the Penguins legend and future Hall of Famer in a car with one of the bobbleheads in the passenger seat.
“Buckle up, baby,” he said. “Let’s go find your friends.”
Jagr also posted a video on Instagram with a caption in his native Czech saying that “the FBI is already working on it, and I decided to help find them.”
Penguins Celebrate Jagr, a Franchise Legend & Future Hall of Famer
Jagr is a living legend in Pittsburgh, and his No. 68 jersey was retired by the Penguins on Feb. 18 at PPG Paints Arena. He is fourth in Penguins history with 1,079 points (439 goals, 640 assists) in 806 regular-season games and helped lead the team to two Stanley Cups (1991, 1992).
Jagr was drafted No. 5 overall by Pittsburgh in the 1990 NHL draft. He played the first 11 of his 24 NHL seasons with the Penguins before going on to play for the Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames between 2001 and 2018.
“There’s no question about it,” Jagr said to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com at his jersey retirement ceremony last month. “When you ask anybody, I think would say in the world, in Czech or in Europe, and when you say Jaromir Jagr, they’re going to say Pittsburgh Penguins no matter where I played after that.”
GettyJaromir Jagr
While with the Penguins, Jagr won the Hart Trophy as the League’s most valuable player in 1998-99 and the Art Ross Trophy for leading the League in points five times (1994-95, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01). He ranks second in NHL history with 1,921 points (766 goals, 1,155 assists) in 1,733 regular-season games.
At 52 years old, Jagr still plays hockey professionally for Kladno, the team he owns in the Extraliga, the top pro league in Czechia.