Jaromir Jagr’s illustrious NHL career has included 12 All-Star Game selections. He’d really rather not receive a 13th.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the 43-year-old ranked fourth in All-Star fan voting, trailing only Patrick Kane, Alex Ovechkin and John Scott (we’ll get to him in a second).
So, what’s the issue? Well, the 2016 All-Star Game will be played as a 3-on-3 tournament, and as the NHL’s oldest active player, Jagr knows he’s not particularly well-suited for that kind of wide-open format.
The Florida Panthers winger explained as much in a tweet Wednesday afternoon, thanking fans for their support but politely requesting they direct it elsewhere.
And Scott, the Arizona Coyotes forward who’s scored five total goals in 280 career games? He’d rather not be a part of the All-Star festivities, either.
“I don’t want to have my name in the headlines for this reason,” Scott said Wednesday, via AZCentral.com. “Like, it’s a fun little thing and hopefully it’ll die down over time. It’s not something — I definitely don’t want to be voted into the All-Star Game. It would be cool, but I definitely don’t deserve it to this point. You never know. There’s still some time left. I could turn it on.”
Scott’s All-Star support likely will fade before voting closes, but Jagr earning lucky No. 13 isn’t entirely outside the realm of possibility. The 44-man All-Star roster (four selected by fans, 40 by the NHL’s Hockey Operations Department) must include at least one representative from each team, and Jagr entered Wednesday as the Panthers’ leader in both goals and points.
Thumbnail photo via Robert Mayer/USA TODAY Sports Images
